Lady and the Tramp
by Step Of Death
Summary: Canon AU Post Season 22. Long after Shankhunt42's shenanigans, the school was still divided by a gender war. With the new Game of Thrones season approaching, Kenny couldn't have picked a worse time to lose a bet to Eric Cartman. A volleyball match unfolds unnecessary drama in his life when he finds himself getting closer to a girl with a pink hat. Kenny x Wendy. Slow burn/Fluff.
1. Author Notes

**A/N: Greetings, everyone! Welcome to a brand new South Park fanfic written by yours truly, Step of Death!**

**I've been a huge fan of South Park for as long as I can remember, but only until recently I decided to venture the fanfiction world of this amazing series. Unfortunately, I was throughly disappointed with what I found, since not only there are very few fanfics written out there, but an even smaller number of them actually try follow to follow the original storyline. Cringy High School AUs, genderbending protagonists, dark/sexual themes in kids's shows and so on are (sadly) common in all fandoms, but it's painfully overused in this one. So I decided to write my own adventure, trying to stay faithful to the series I fell in love with.**

**Here are some things you should know before reading this story:**

_-English is not my main language, so grammar mistakes are to be expected. I will, however, fix whatever mistakes I stumble across, so please do point them out for me if you can._

_-Despite the title, this story is NOT a retelling of Disney's "Lady and the Tramp" with a South Park cast. These types of stories are absolutely ridiculous and scream 'lack of creativity'. _

_-This story may contain spoilers to the plots of "South Park: Stick of Truth", "South Park: The Fractured But Whole", "South Park Phone Destroyer" as well as the original TV series since several events from the most various episodes will be mentioned. Read at your own risk. _

_-This story features Kenny McCormick and Wendy Testaburger as an eventual couple. If you do not like this pairing in any way then you might not enjoy this story. It's also worth mentioning that I will not add a hundred more ships to this story. Again, this fanfic is about Kenny and Wendy, so if you wish to see any other ships then you won't find them here. Pairing the spares just for the sake of pairing them is stupid and unoriginal._

-_This story is NOT a one-shot. More chapters will be added based on feedback recieved. The more reviews I get, the more I will work on this story. This is to prevent me from wasting my scarce free time in a story that no one is interested in._

_-This is a Post-series Canon AU/Divergence AU, which means it will follow the original storyline very closely and will take place shortly after Season 22. It is advised to have some basic knowledge on at least the 5 last seasons in order to avoid confusion concerning certain chain of events._

-_Whenever Kenny speaks, his lines will look like this: [nigga]. The reason behind the brackets is to represent Kenny's muffled voice. Think of it as a translation. I won't write a story where my protagonists's lines are variations of "mmph mph mph"._

_With that said, please enjoy the story, and don't forget to review!_

**Disclaimer: I do not own South Park. If I did, I most certainly would not be writing fanfiction.**_  
_


	2. Prologue

It was hard to completely discern what a normal day was like in South Park. Zombie apocalypses, school shootings, being attacked by giant monsters and even having Satan himself throw a halloween party on Earth were as common as eating, but a peaceful and serene setting was equally as possible in said town.

Thankfully, it would seem that today was on the more uneventful side of the spectre, much to Kenny McCormick's relief.

For him specifically, normal days could sometimes involve having him brutally killed in the most various ways, then waking up on his bed on the next day as if nothing happened. He had been stabbed, drowned, thrown into lava and even eaten from the inside out by rats. Yet, no matter how gruesome, painful or gory any of his deaths were, the following day he would be back at school and hanging out with his friends normally.

As used as he was to end up in all kinds of crazy adventures with his friends, as well as basically beating death whenever it challenged him, that didn't mean he wasn't a fan of quiet, calm days, away from all the the dangerous stuff that seemed to follow him around. In fact, for very obvious reasons, these kinds of days were his favorite, which was why today he was in a particular good mood despite his monotone routine. He knew, however, to never let his guard down though.

Ignoring the sounds of children screaming and gunshots, Kenny calmly got in line to get him lunch, engaging in small talk with the boys there as he did so. He made his way through the cafeteria and sat next to his friends, discussing what to do after school with Stan and Kyle as he ate his lunch. Luckily, everyone forgot that he gave up on participating in the bike parade since he was suddenly killed by Jeff Bezos, otherwise they'd probably be pissed with him even after the truth about Amazon was revealed. It had been a few months since then, but they still talked about it every now and then, so it was still relevant.

For some miracle Cartman was nowhere to be seen, making the atmosphere way more amicable and enjoyable.

As amicable as it could get, that is.

It'd been some time since the whole incident with the internet troll Skankhunt42, but it was evident even to someone unafilliated with the school that there was some lingering resentment there. The girls were insistent on the idea that Skankhunt42's actions spoke for the boys' opinions, and needless to say things got even worse when Butters started the 'Wieners Out' movement in retaliation. Time passed, and the overall agressiveness and radical protests were over, but the two genders (yes, two) were still as distant as ever.

Most boys had gotten over the mass break-up and were no longer feeling depressed over it. Even Stan, who had been dating for the longest time out of all boys had seemingly stopped worrying over it. Despite that, they were all hurt by the whole situation as well, so they weren't trying to fix things either. Perhaps the only boys who truly couldn't care less about the situation were Craig and Tweek since they were a gay couple, and Kyle since he was single.

Kenny himself didn't really hold any grudges or loathing against the girls. His relationship with Sally Turner hadn't lasted long enough for him to have any special memories or leave a hole in his heart. Also, he had never been particularly close to any of the girls in the first place, so one could say he was pretty neutral about that whole mess. The way he saw it, the only unfortunate thing about the gender war was the fact that he could no longer buy homemade rice crackers from a girl next class, and boy, did he miss them.

However, what truly shocked both boys and girls wasn't how the cyberbullying caused people to permanently leave twitter or how images of everyone's mothers ended up with photoshopped penises in their mouth and spread out like wildfire. It was the fact that the gender war somehow gave birth to the most unexpected couple.

Cartman and Heidi.

Not a single person in the school could understand how they ended up together, but it obviously had something to do with how they no longer had any part in social media related issues. It was mindblowing to see the fat racist kid everyone hated kissing a once popular girl in the middle of the hallways, but with time people were able to accept the absurdity of it and mind their own business. After all, in a way, it was thanks to their efforts that the gender war slowly settled down. Everyone was far too astonished to be angry with each other.

It was concerning, however, when with each passing day Heidi slowly became more and more similar to Cartman, both in personality and physical appearence. Heidi went from a sweet, caring straight-A student to a female version of her boyfriend, which needless to say escalated into an outright obnoxious thing for everyone that had to deal with them. The once loving couple now frequently argued in the halls, complained about everything and got into fights with whoever crossed their line of sight. For some time Kyle was insistent that someone should do something about it - mostly thanks to his not-so-secret crush on her-, but everyone agreed that it was none of their business.

Eventually, fate proved that third-party interventions weren't necessary and they broke up, this time for good. Kenny hadn't seen them together since, but felt relieved when Heidi lost weight and went back to her usual self. Having one Cartman to deal with was more than enough.

Speaking of the devil, it was a surprise when Cartman showed up to the cafeteria at last; his Buddha box nowhere to be seen. He went straight to his friends's table, a huge smile on his face.

"Guys, guys! Holy shit guys, you won't believe what I bought!" He yelled as he jumped around, barely able to contain his excitement.

Everyone looked at each other uncertainly, until Kyle eventually decided to see what the fuss was about. "What?"

It then that Kenny noticed Cartman was holding a plastic bag. The fat boy proceeded to shove his hand inside it and pull out something that made their jaw drop.

"There was a promotion at gamestop, guys! I got Rocket League for Xbox One for less than 8 dollars!"

"Less than 8 dollars?!" Stan widened his eyes, suddenly curious both about the game and the price. All boys in the table seemed equally interested.

Kyle was confused. "What's 'Rocket League?'"

"You don't know? It's a soccer videogame where you control cars instead of people. You can use turbo and fly around to make goals, and apparently it's cool as shit."

"Soccer with cars? That does sound awesome." The jew admitted.

"Dude, isn't that the collector's edition?" Craig asked, noticing the small letters above the game title.

Cartman had a smug smile on as people kept looking at the game with astonishment "That's right Craig. It has several DLC packs included AND exclusive cars!"

"No way, this version should cost at least 30 dollars!" Clyde commented. "Did you buy a pre-owned disc?"

"Why the fuck would I buy a pre-owned game Clyde, you fucking idiot?! You think I'm poor like Kenny?!" Cartman growled, earning a frown from Kenny that went ignored.

"Wow, less than 8 dollars! That's super cheap!" Butters exclaimed in amezement.

"How much was it exactly?" Stan asked.

"$7,99! Can you believe it?!" Kyle rolled his eyes. "I'm telling you guys, we gotta gather in my house after school and-"

"Hey ba- ...Eric, what's up?" A gentle voice interrupted Cartman, who turned out to be none other than Heidi's. She offered him an emotionless look, holding a tray filled with food as she approached him.

Cartman's high spirits immediately vanished, and his overly excited expression was replaced with a downright depressed one. He looked down at the ground as if he had been recieving a lecture for the past 20 hours and all his energy was drained.

"Oh hey Heidi, what's going on." He asked, though his tone very clearly suggested he had absolutely no interest in the answer whatsoever. The boys at the table just awkwardly watched the scene in silence.

"What are you up to?" She asked, a bit nervous and unsure how to break the ice but no longer apathic and/or ignorant to ther former boyfriend's attitude much to everyone's surprise.

Cartman's sigh was so intense he exhaled all air in his lungs and had to inhale again. "Nothing, just, talking about playing a gamewiththeguys." He replied, his tone getting even more drained and uninterested as he kept speaking.

"You said you wanted to talk during lunch. You had something important to say." She reminded him when he said nothing more, her tone not as loving and caring as it used to be. "What do you want?"

"Oh yeah, that. Just give a sec with the guys and I'll come find you, mkay?" He said, not stopping to look at her in the eyes once.

Heidi rolled her eyes and let out an annoyed sigh. And with that she left.

As if completely erasing the last 45 seconds from his mind, Cartman's euphoria was back "-do a tournament or some shit like that!"

"T-To-To-Tournament?" Jimmy asked, stuttering as usual.

"This game has local multiplayer for up to 4 people at once. We can make teams and play against each other until there's only one left!" Cartman explained.

All boys looked at each other, silently agreeing to ignore the whole thing with Heidi as well as considering Cartman's offer.

"That sounds great! Count me in!" Butters was the first to voice his opinion, and soon the other boys ended up agreeing as well.

"Awesome guys, it will be cool as fuck! Alright, so let's meet up at my house after school. Bring your controllers and- oh Kenny, since you don't have one you can just watch while we play all day." He added with a smile, much to Kenny's frustration.

Then as soon as he came, Cartman vanished to meet up with Heidi, leaving the boys to discuss their afternoon plans by themselves.

Truth be told, Kenny was fine with just watching since it meant an afternoon away from dangerous stuff whether he played the game or not. All that mattered to him was to have fun with his friends, so he was not going to let Cartman's teasing ruin his good mood or his day. He focused on eating his lunch again, secretly looking forward to spend some quality time with everyone.

* * *

Once school was over everyone made a quick stop at their respective houses before heading to Cartman's. Kenny briefly told his mother and his sister that he might be coming late that day, and since he didn't have an xbox controller - much less an actual Xbox One - he simply got his Yu-Gi-Oh deck with him in case anyone wanted to play. He also got some snacks he paid for of his own pocket since he found it impolite to go to a gathering and not bring anything. It also saved him from Cartman's remarks about him being poor, though knowing the boy he would definitely find some way to tease Kenny anyway.

When Kenny arrived at Cartman's home he found out that some of the guys were already there, but several people wouldn't be coming. Apparently, Cartman made a scene and tried to use his 'anxiety' into guilt-tripping Heidi to date him again. His plan backfired, however, when he got bored at Heidi's lecture about a relationship needing effort from both sides, so he rudely pulled his Buddha box mid-conversation and started browsing his phone, revolting a lot of people in the process. So basically, the only people attending either didn't hear of the incident, don't give a damn about it or were just too interested in the game to let this pass up.

Jimmy was there, but he told Kenny that he wouldn't play the game either since he had no motor coordination to play a fast motion game like that. Token, Craig and Tweek were the last ones to arrive, and soon they all gathered excitedly in the living room.

It took Kenny exact five minutes to realize something was wrong.

As soon as Cartman turned on the TV and the Xbox, Kenny couldn't help but notice Cartman had a new Xbox profile that wasn't there a few days ago. He found it weird, but didn't comment on it.

The second time alarms set off in Kenny's head was 10 seconds later.

Nowadays, when you buy a new game - be it as digital media or physical media - you are supposed to download additional data in order to have a fully functional game. Also, games are frequently updated in order to add new content, fix issues and so on. Being a game that Cartman supposedly bought today before school, it was to be expected that they should spend the next 40 minutes or so waiting for it to fully download - and that's considering his internet would cooperate and download at max speed.

But there was no download.

The game started right away without downloading everything. Thankfully, Kyle also found it strange and voiced his doubt to Cartman, who replied that he downloaded the entire data before everyone arrived. Everyone seemed to buy it, but Kenny did not. He couldn't shake away the feeling that something sounded fishy. After going through several literal death experiences he had developed a weird instinct of feeling danger.

_"...Maybe I'm just overthinking." _He thought, trying to ignore his unease.

But it only grew stronger once he started setting up the matches.

"Hey guys, I was thinking... How about we make this tournament a bit more interesting?"

When these words came out of Cartman's mouth, Kenny was absolutely sure he was plotting something. Everyone stopped what they were doing and listened to Cartman.

"How so?" Butters asked, sounding confused.

"Well, I was thinking about- I don't know. How about, uh, the winning team can give the losing team an order or something. I don't know, I mean- it could be fun, right?" He replied, his voice dangerously innocent.

Normally, Kenny would have agreed, but the fact that it was Cartman of all people suggesting it was suspicious, to say the least. Thankfully, Kyle seemed to have thought the exact same thing, evident in the way he narrowed his brows.

"An order?" Token inquired, somewhat hesitant as well.

"Yeah, an order like- I don't know. 'Do the winning team's homework', or something like that? Maybe 'record a video sucking the winners's balls', I don't know."

Kyle frowned. "You wouldn't come up with this if you weren't sure you could win, fatass. I bet you're up to something." He stated.

Cartman looked at the jew with surprise. "That's not true Kyle. I just thought it could be fun, that's all."

"TIMMEHH!" Timmy yelled. Wait, what was he even doing there?

"Even if you lose?" The jew insisted. Everyone else just watched.

"Haha, there's no way I'll lose."

"You sound awfully certain of that."

Cartman finally snapped. "God damn it Kyle, stop being a pain in the ass! How the hell would I be sure of it if I bought the game today? No one here even knows how to play the damn game yet!"

At this Kyle seemed to run out of things to say. "W-Well..."

"Oh wait. Don't tell me you're afraid of being ordered around?" Cartman teased, his tone mocking.

The jew scowled. "I am _not_."

"Popopopo, Kyle is scared of losing, popopopo" Cartman started mimicking a chicken, and even Kenny had to admit it was kind of funny.

Butters chuckled. "Hahaha, Kyle is afraid! What a loser!" Everyone else started laughing.

Now it was Kyle's turn to snap. "I am not! Fine, I'll play this stupid game!"

Neither Kenny or Kyle missed the mischevious look in Cartman's eyes as he smiled. "Great! Alright, let's separate the teams! I'll go with Stan, Craig will go with Clyde, Kyle will go with Butters, Token will-"

"Hold on. What the hell are you doing?" Stan asked.

Cartman blinked. "I'm picking the teams, obviously. Are you on drugs or something?"

"Why are **you** picking the teams?" Craig questioned.

"Because it's my house and my Xbox, so I pick the damn teams! What's with the stupid questions?!" An exasperated Cartman growled, growing increasingly nervous.

"AGH! Why can't we pick the teams ourselves?!" Tweek yelled, twitching uncontrolably as usual.

"Well- I mean, isn't it obvious guys? No one would want to go with Kyle, so I need to be fair and pick the teams at random, or else he'll be left out like Kenny." He explained, visibly losing his composure.

Kyle pointed an accusing finger at him. "You're not picking the teams at random! I bet you're picking nonsensical teams just so you can have an advantage!"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Well?"

"Then what do you suggest, huh, Kyle?! Are you telling me that I should let everyone pick who they want to play with?! And have everyone play with their best cards from the start?! Because that's just fucking stupid!"

"Cards? I thought we were going to play Rocket League." A confused Butters pondered out loud.

"Shut the fuck up, Butters!"

Kyle just rolled his eyes while Stan lost his patience. "That's enough Cartman! We don't have all day. Either we pick our teammates or do a raffle, otherwise we're out of here." He declared and all the boys agreed immediately.

Cartman tried to argue, but at that point none of the boys were in the mood to hear another word. Kenny blinked as things got more and more heated, and just stood there awkwardly wondering if he should intervene. He didn't even care about the game anymore; concerned about the prospect of having his day ruined over something so stupid. Hell, they hadn't even started playing yet and the atmosphere was heavy.

"Fine! Let's do a fucking raffle then! Don't say I didn't warn you afterwards!" Cartman yelled and Kenny let out a sigh in relief. Since they were able to reach something like an agreement then maybe there was still hope for his day. He couldn't help being pessimistic when bad things always happened to him though, so he silently wished things wouldn't go downhill from there.

Kenny helped the boys write up everyone's name pairs of numbers in a sheet of paper, cut them into tiny pieces and put them all into a shoe box. One by one, the boys picked up a paper from the box and formed pairs with the person with the same number. Once the teams were formed, they were finally ready to start-

"Uh, hey guys, is everyone satisfied with your buddies? Because we can uh, do the raffle again if anyone feels like it." Cartman adopted his innocent 'good boy' voice again, looking around nervously.

"No, I'm fine." Stan said, moving next to Butters, who was quick to let out a 'me too!'

"Same here." Craig said, holding Tweek's hand.

"We're good." Token and Clyde nodded.

Cartman said nothing for a while, closing his eyes and doing one heavy breath before trying again. "So are you uh, 100% fine with who you got?"

"Nice try Cartman." A frowning Kyle hissed. "You're stuck with me whether you like it or not. And since we're teammates you might as well give up on whatever you were planning to order me to do."

...

"...**Fuck**."

* * *

...

Thankfully, the rest of the afternoon went smoothly, despite Cartman's plan being exposed and going down the drain. Kenny half expected the fat boy to kick everyone out of his house once his scheme failed since that was exactly the kind of thing he would do, but surprisingly that wasn't the case this time. The immortal could only assume that Cartman still had some ulterior motive, but maybe he was just being pessimistic again. Also, he wasn't even going to play, so even if Cartman was indeed planning something against someone, then he was probably safe.

Until, of course, there were different rules in play.

After drawing a tournament bracket of sorts the boys finally started playing the game. Kenny had to admit that the game seemed extremely fun, and everyone was actually having a great time. It was such a friendly and happy environment that if was like as if they were in some kind of TV show. Even Cartman's constant bragging about making a goal or stopping someone from making one was taken as playful teasing, and not even the most one-sided losses were being able to ruin anyone's mood. The matches were chaotic and unpredictable, specially since everyone was new to the game, but that just made the game even more entertaining.

Since there were only four teams, all it took were two matches for the 'tournament' to end, so eventually everyone decided to try going at one on one. Since it was technically a soccer game - albeit a rather unusual one - the minimum requirement for a match was to have at least two people in each team. So they came up with a way turn this tournament into individual face-offs, yet still playing in teams.

Let's say Kyle is arranged to play against Clyde. Each of them are allowed to choose one of the remaining eight players to be their partner for that battle, but these partners wouldn't be evaluated at the end of the match. So even if Clyde and his partner win together, the victory would count only as Clyde's. A win would let them advance through the brackets while a loss would get them disqualified, and they'd all play until only one player remained. At the final match, only the actual player who managed to reach the finals would be able to issue the punishment, but both the loser and everyone else would be bound to follow whatever punishment the winner would decree. Simple and efficient.

And so the real tournament started. Kenny had to admit that this arrangement was way more exciting, even if it meant Cartman now had a chance of going along with his original plan, whatever it was.

Tweek got anxious and lost early on against Stan, but was picked as Craig's partner right in the next match against Clyde. The power of love prevailed and Craig advanced rather easily.

Next was Kyle against Butters. Now, everyone was picking their partners from earlier since it made things easier for everyone. But the fact that Kenny had been just watching this whole time bothered Kyle, so he offered to team up and Stan gladly lent his controller to him. It also got Kyle away from Cartman from a bit since the fat boy was a toxic player. With this turn of events, Butters had to pick someone other than Stan as his assistant, and none other than Cartman himself volunteered almost immediately. His reasoning was simple: _"You think I'd pass up the opportinity to kick both the jew's and the poor kid's asses?"_

Despite that, Butters and Cartman suffered an overwhelming defeat. Having a knack for videogames that literally got him to lead an army of angels and fend off an invasion from Satan himself, Kenny got the hang of the game rather fast. After watching several matches and learning his way with the controls, he was able to synergize pretty well with Kyle. The goals kept coming one after another and the other boys started cheering for them. Once the three minutes of the match were up and the match was officially, a surprising score of 4 to 0 got everyone stunned.

Except for Cartman.

Kenny once again had a weird feeling that something wasn't right. It most certainly wasn't in Cartman's character to lose a game and be positive about it, specially when he went as far as congratulating both Kenny and Kyle for their 'well-deserved victory'. Even if that technically didn't count as his loss, but Butters's, it was still unsettling to see him act like this. What could the reason be? Was he just trying to shake the attention away from his poor performance in the match? Was he planning something again? Or was a part of him actually decent enough to play a game respectfully?

The final match of the preliminaries was between Cartman and Token. With the last match still fresh in their minds, everyone half-expected Cartman to suffer yet another embarrasing loss, and quite frankly, pretty much everyone secretly hoped for it to happen since they knew he didn't suggest the 'winner gives an order' for fun. Sharing everyone's will, Token and Clyde joined forces to eliminate Cartman from the tournament.

But that's far from what happened.

Cartman's change in skill level from one match to the other didn't go unnoticed by anyone. In fact, if one were to compare his performance from now to the one from last match, it woudn't be innacurate to describe he went from an autistic potato to a veteran pro player. Although still chaotic and messy, it was evident to everyone watching that Cartman was playing better than ever before, doing moves that none of them even deemed possible until then. That, added to the shock of this twist, shook everyone's morale and it didn't take long for Cartman to score the first goal. Then the next one. Then the next one.

It was then that Kenny realized.

Kyle was right. Cartman wouldn't have done all this if he wasn't sure he could win. Suddenly, everything fit into place. The new profile. The fact that there was no additional data to download. And now that absolute beating he gave to Token.

It wasn't Cartman's first time playing the game.

He tried to trick everyone into thinking it was a new game, that they were all on the same level and that the tournament would be fair. But in reality, he had planned ahead. He had been playing that shit for who knows how long, and the only reason he suggested benefits for the winner was because he knew he had an advantage and would most likely win.

...But as much as it made sense, it was still just a theory. He considered voicing his concerns to his friends, but did he even have any right to do so? Not only he could be potentially wrong, but even if he wasn't, he had no way to prove any of it. Besides, he wasn't even personally involved in the game. Usually, Kenny had a policy of not sticking his nose in someone else's business so as to avoid unnecessary trouble for himself. But the fact that Cartman could be hiding an unfair advantage from his friends went against his morals.

It was a complicated dilemma, so he decided to hold his tongue for now. He just hoped he wouldn't regret it afterwards.

"Whoa, Eric, that was amazing!" An astonished Butters chirped.

Cartman shrugged, wearing the fakest smile Kenny had ever seen in his face. "Oh, it was just luck."

Kyle gave him a weird look. The good thing about the jew was that he knew Cartman's schemes better than anyone, so he probably noticed something sounded fishy as well. But like Kenny, he said nothing about the suspicious victory, probably for the same reasons.

The tournament went on normally. Stan went against Craig (and Tweek). Deciding to give Butters a rest, Stan invited Kyle to play, reminiscing their days of playing Guitar Hero together and how good they were as a duo. It was a rough dispute as both teams were equally matched, and by the end of the match they were stuck with a score of 1 to 1. Since the match ended and there was no victor, the game immediately started the sudden death mode: Whoever scored next would win. Unfortunately, Tweek could not handle the pressure of this turn of events and started playing irrationally, leading his boyfriend and himself to their defeat.

With Stan guaranteeing his place in the finals, now was the time for the match that would decide his opponent. Cartman was visibly annoyed at the bracket since his next opponent was Kyle since it was rather anticlimatic for these two to not fight each other at the finals. Nevertheless, they picked their teammates and started what would be ammunition for teasing Kyle for days. Once again Cartman shocked everyone with more than above-average skills, using his to get his car flying somehow and thus scoring aerial goals that no rookie would be able to defend if not with a lot of luck. Sadly, that wasn't Kyle's case and he had to accept the unpleasant reality of losing to Cartman.

"Nananana, I beat Kyle in Rocket League, nananana!"

"Fuck you, Cartman!"

And thus, the match everyone was waiting for finally came. Stan and Cartman would face each other in the final game, and one of them would earn the right to impose a rule to all participants. Everyone was on the edge of their seats. This would surely be an epic battl-

***Ding Dong***

...This would surely be an epic-

***Ding Dong***

"Mom, answer the door!" Cartman yelled as he edited the match settings.

***Ding Dong Ding Dong***

At that point Cartman was nearly about to explode. Seeing how he wouldn't move to answer his own door, Kenny rolled his eyes and went himself. Maybe some of the other guys decided to show up after all?

When he opened the door he found none other than Towelie, still repeatedly pressing the doorbell despite the fact Kenny was standing right in front of him. Towelie finally took notice of the boy; every fiber of it's being as high as a kite.

"Oh hey Eric... Wow, you got thin." The towel said as it pulled a joint out of nowhere and took a huge smoke.

"Mmph mph mmh. [I'm Kenny.]" The boy replied, his voice muffled yet clearly annoyed. Unfortunately, the towel was too high to notice or care.

"Ahh... dude, I'm so high... Is Stan here?" Towelie said as he moved past Kenny and entered the house, seemingly forgetting that the boy was even there.

Cartman noticed the intrusion immediately. "What the fuck is he doing here?"

"Oh hey Stan. Wow... you got fat."

"**I'm** Stan." The boy rolled his eyes. "What do you want, Towelie?"

The towel took another large pull of it's joint. "Hey... I got a message from your dad. He needs you at the farm or some shit like that..."

Stan narrowed his eyebrows. "What? What the hell does he need me for?"

"...No idea, dude. He just said it's urgent. ...Hey, you guys wanna get high?"

Ignoring him, Stan rubbed his temple. "Holy shit, this can't be happening."

Cartman frowned. "Hold on Stan, you're not leaving now of all times, are you?"

"Dude, what choice do I have? Knowing my dumb fuck of a dad, he's probably so high he could end up doing something stupid and get hurt."

"What about the tournament?!" Kyle asked, not happy with this turn of events either.

Stan sighed. "I don't know."

"Oh great, did you hear that guys? He 'doesn't know'. Well that's great, Stan. It's not like everyone was looking forward to this, so let's just end the tournament here and go home." Cartman mocked, sarcastic.

Stan scowled. "We don't have to end the tournament here. Someone can take my place. Whether they win or lose, I'll take part in the whatever rule is imposed. It's the least I can do."

"Are you sure, Stan? Even if it's Cartman who wins?" Kyle questioned, implicitly emphasizing the danger in letting Cartman do what he wants.

"...Yeah. Whatever." He turned towards everyone. "Who wants to play in my stead?"

Silence.

Stan sighed. It was obvious that was going happen. No one wanted to play against Cartman after his last matches, specially since they would also have to carry a huge burden if they lost. One of them could be the person responsible for turning everyone into Cartman's slave in case they lost, and absolutely no one wanted to be that person or to find out what Cartman was planning to do.

"Whoa, seriously guys? No one will challenge me?" Cartman feigned disbelief with the most infuriatingly mocking smile on his face. "I guess we can count that as an automatic win-"

"[I'll do it.]"

Everyone turned to see Kenny step forward, a determined look in his eyes.

"Kenny, are you sure...? I mean, you're technically not even participating in this. It should be fine for you no matter who loses."

Kyle was right. Kenny had literally nothing to gain by doing this, yet he could end up losing more than just a game. He knew all too well the dangers of giving Eric Cartman the slightest illusion of authority. Yet, he was putting his dignity, his pride and the respect of his friends on table, and for what? To keep the tournament going and be a part of it? To protect his friends from Cartman and his potential schemes? What happened to his policy of not getting himself involved with unnecessary trouble?

Regardless of what was driving him, he felt that what he was doing was right, and that was all he needed. Someone had to take Stan's place, and that someone was him.

"[It's fine. I'll play.]" He said simply, slowly walking towards Stan. None of the boys said anything, captured by the moment. Finally, Stan nodded and handed his controller to Kenny, respecting his resolve.

"Good luck." Stan said, grabbing Towelie's by it's arm and dragging him towards the door. He stopped for a few seconds, slightly turning his head back to the others. "Sorry everyone."

And with that he left, closing the door behind him. An uncomfortable silence took place.

"...What's with the overly dramatic exit? Like holy fuck, do you guys think we're in an anime or some stupid shit like that?" Cartman commented bluntly.

Kenny ignored the fat boy and made his way to the couch, silently customizing his car. "[If anyone wishes to pair up with me, now is the time.]" He said, not turning to face the others. He wouldn't pick anyone himself. He wanted his partner to step up like he did or it would mean nothing.

"You do know that if you lose I get to order you around, right?" Cartman questioned. "It's not too late to quit, you know. Of course, it'll still count as my win either way, but at least you won't have to pay for it like those idiots over there." The boy said, growing increasingly angry when Kenny remained silent.

Finally, he shook his head. "[Shut your fat ass and let's get this started.]"

Cartman didn't like that answer. "Fine, have it your way! Just don't come crying to me after you lose! Butters!" He called suddenly. "Get your controller."

"Oh, um... Ok...!" The boy said nervously as he made his way to the couch.

"Well, Kenny, it seems no one wants to play with you." The overweight boy said, not even bothering to hide his mocking tone. "In that case, you'll have to play with a bot in your team."

Kenny said nothing again, eyes fixed on the screen. He knew he was acting weird all of a sudden and that everyone was probably confused, but he didn't care. If there was one thing Kenny hated with all his being was dishonest people. He believed that victories without effort meant nothing; that there was no shortcut to success and no honor to people who exploited unfair advantages over others to triumph. Which was why what Cartman was doing sickened him to his core, and why he felt the need to kick the boy's greasy ass as hard as he could in his own game. Chances of winning were slim, but he had to give it a shot.

The final match started. Kenny went all-out from the very start, depleting his entire tank of nitro to get to the ball first. He adopted an extremely agressive approach, taking both Cartman and Butters by surprise and leaving no room for a defense. As if inevitable, Kenny soon scored an extremely lucky goal within mere seconds that made Cartman's jaw drop. The boys cheered in amazement, rooting for Kenny with more spirit than the cheerleading team could ever muster.

Sadly, it only went downhill from there.

It soon became evident to Kenny that having a computer programmed AI as a partner was far from ideal. While the bot had a decent level of skill - since Kenny made sure to put it at least on a medium difficulty to keep things balanced - the bot apparently didn't understand the concept of teamwork. Unlike Butters and Cartman, Kenny had no way to communicate with his ally or to at least have any influence in it's actions, so it was the same as playing on his own. The AI would pointlessly run after the ball no matter where it went, forcing Kenny to play on the defensive since the lack of a goalie was resulting in goals for Cartman. Also, the bot would inadvertedly get in Kenny's way of scoring his own goals by trying to score them itself.

It wasn't a match between pairs. It was a three against one.

At that point Kenny realized that winning was highly unlikely. His teammate kept ruining his movements, Butters kept destroying Kenny's car (at Cartman's command) by ramming into it at full speed, and Cartman kept scoring goals at the unprotected goal. At one point the bot even scored an own goal by accident, deepening the score difference even more. Kenny tried desperately to at least get the game to sudden death, but it was in vain.

He lost.

"HAHAHAHAHA! See, what did I tell you, Kenny? You shouldn't have messed with Cartmaaan-BRAH!" An overly excited Eric laughed out loud. Everyone else was silent, trying to process the situation as well as what was to come.

"No way... Kenny lost?" Kyle muttered to himself, though it was loud enough for the others to hear.

"We're doomed." Clyde commented, feeling the sudden urge to run away screaming.

Cartman had a smug smile that went from year to year. "Well, it sucks to be you guys! Now, according to the rules - to which you all agreed to - I get to give an order to you assholes! And just to remind you-"

"We know Cartman! Just give the damn order already." An annoyed Kyle barked.

Eric just kept smiling. "What's with the rush, Kyle?"

The jew had the very opposite of a smile on his face. "We all know what we got ourselves into, so stop wasting our time. The sooner this is over, the better."

"Oh, but I'll have to disagree with you there, Kyle. I want to enjoy every second of this." Cartman started pacing back and forward like a predator taunting it's prey. "Now let's see, what should I have you guys do? Have you walk around in school naked? Nah, too easy. Fail your tests on purpose, maybe? Choices, choices..." He thought out loud, his voice filled with delight.

"...We are so fucked." An exasperated Clyde sighed, and Kenny couldn't help but grimace.

It was his fault.

He took the challenge. He accepted Cartman's terms and was aware of his cheating. He respected his friends's unwillingness to play with him, and he didn't refuse to play with an unconventional teammate in their place. So there was no one he could blame but himself. And it made him feel like absolute dogshit. Not because he lost, but because he failed his friends, even if they were unaware of his feelings themselves.

Eventually, Cartman stopped in place once his eyes locked on the trash can.

"Oh wait. Wait, that's it! I know what I'll have you guys do!" He exclaimed.

The boys looked at each other rather nervously. "Well, then say it already." Craig growled.

He slowly approached the trash can. "As I'm sure you know, the latest Game of Thrones season will be released soon..."

Tweek's eyes widened. "AHHGH! Don't tell me you won't let us see it?!"

"C-C-Co-Come on, Cartman. There's gotta be s-something else." Jimmy tried to reason with him. Even if he wasn't involved with the tournament, that punishment was too much.

"TIMMY!"

"Yeah dude, we all got plans to watch the premiere. You can't stop us from seeing it!" Token explained, but that only made Cartman's smile grow even wider.

"I'm afraid it's a little more than just missing the first episode, my friends." He reached inside the trash can, much to everyone's surprise and disgust. "You see, you guys will miss the movie because you'll be too busy doing something else."

"Like what?" Clyde asked, though he knew he would regret that question.

Kyle faced his friends. "Come on guys, it couldn't be any worse than that. He's just trying to mess with us even more."

"Oh is that right, Kyle?" He taunted and the jew said nothing. "Well, answering your question, Clyde..." Finally, Cartman pulled a crumpled piece of paper from the garbage can and carefully opened it up, revealing it's contents to the boys. "I'm afraid you guys will have to watch the girls's volleyball match!"

As if Cartman had just announced their public execution, genuine terror became evident in their expressions. How could such a catastrophic coincidence even be possible? Kenny pinched himself and hoped he was dreaming, but the painful truth was right in front of him. The dates was the same as the season's premiere. The time was almost the same as the episode's start. It was like as if that volleyball game was a cruel twist of fate created by some higher force with the very specific objective of ruining the boys's lives. Missing a movie they had been waiting for months was bad enough, but being forced to watch girls practice a sport they didn't care about made things a hundred times worse.

"AHHGH! ANYTHING BUT THAT!" Tweek freaked out, pulling his hair and letting out a yell that sounded like a wild dog snarling.

"That's going too far, Cartman! Missing the movie is one thing, but watching the girls's volleyball?" An angry Kyle protested.

Butters fidgeted with his hands. "Oh man, I bet they're still mad that we flashed our wieners some time ago. They're going to kill us!"

"That's it. Either change the rule or I'm out. I'm not doing that!" Clyde declared.

"Fat chance, Clyde! You all agreed to this; there's no chickening out now!" An annoyed Cartman yelled.

Kenny watched in silence as the atmosphere grew more and more tense, cursing himself for being the cause of it. He was familiar with the most intense levels of pain; more than any masochist could ever dream of. And yet, the guilt of that loss was consuming him from the inside out, more than any of his death experiences could. He did something he could never redeem himself for, that not even a permanent death-

"_Wait a minute... That's... that's kind of gay, to be honest._" Kenny told himself, realizing how his train of thought had dangerously derailed into goth territory. If that wasn't the very definition of overreacting to a damn videogame, then he didn't know what was.

He pushed the thoughts away and frowned. The point is, he felt guilty that his friends would have to put up with some ridiculous order of Cartman because of his loss. Sure, they all had their degree of blame by accepting his the tournament rules and still going along with it. But the fact is that Kenny was their last resort, and he failed them. No one was blaming him (yet, at least), but he felt like it was his fault anyway. It wasn't fair for everyone to suffer when **he** lost the final battle, even if everyone agreed (at first) to it.

Suddenly, Kenny had an idea. If there was still any hope of sparing his friends from that ridiculous order, then he had to at least try.

"[Hey Cartman, I need to speak with you.]" He called, approaching the boy who was currently engaged in a heated discussion with the others.

"Not now, Kenny! If you want some change try juggling in some traffic light!" Cartman hissed, not even turning to look at Kenny as he glowered at a defiant Clyde.

Frowning, Kenny pulled Cartman's arm, who was so distracted by the argument that the sudden motion actually had him getting dragged a few meters away. Everyone watched in amazement and confusion as Kenny took a dumbfounded Cartman into the kitchen.

Once they were out of earshot, Kenny let go of Cartman's arm, who aggressively pulled himself away from the boy. "What the fuck do you think you're doing, Kenny?!"

"[Let them watch Game of Thrones. I'll go watch the girls's volleyball game in their stead.]" He went straight to the point.

"...Hah. Hahahahaha!" Cartman burst out laughing, eyeing Kenny with a are-you-fucking-retarded look. "Nice try Kenny, but the answer is no. You think I'll miss the chance of messing with those guys for no reason? Well, newsflash: Fuck you!" He flipped not one, but two birds.

Kenny's frown deepened. "[Alright, listen: I know you cheated.]"

Cartman scoffed. "Wow. Seriously Kenny? You lose, so you accuse me of cheating? I should have known you were a poor loser. Haha, get it? 'Poor' loser."

Kenny took a dangerous step towards Cartman and stabbed an accusing finger on his chest. "[I know that wasn't your first time playing the game. I know you made a fake xbox profile to hide your actual progress, that you intentionally played like a moron to kick Butters out of the tournament.]"

Of course, Kenny had no way to prove any of his claims and was merely bluffing. However, the way Cartman's expression changed was more than enough proof that he fell for it. Even Kenny was somewhat amazed at how convincing he sounded. Cartman threw an aprehensive glance towards the crowd of boys left behind, who were too busy discussing something among themselves to notice him.

"Do you think I'm stupid, Kenny? You can't prove any of it." Cartman saidas he turned his attention back to Kenny, but but his voice and his eyes lacked the usual mocking, confident tone/look; as well as the agressiveness that was most likely intended with the sentence. And Kenny didn't fail to notice it.

"[Then change profiles on the Xbox and show me that there is no trace of Rocket League in it. No achievements, no savedata or anything of the sort. Show me.]" Kenny taunted, bluffing again.

But it seemed to have it's desired effect. Cartman let out a sigh and frowned. "Alright Kenny, you got me. So what? Are you going to blackmail me now, like how poor people usually do to get drugs?"

Kenny ignored the comment. "[Either send me alone or I'll tell everyone you cheated. No one will play with you again, and most importantly, you won't be ordering anyone around. It's your choice.]"

Cartman's frown deepened, veins popping on this forehead as he experienced pure anger. "You've got to be kidding me. Kenny of all people is blackmailing me? **Kenny**?" He talked to himself, shooting a glare upwards. "Very funny, God! You just love fucking me in the ass, don't you?!"

Kenny was rather amused at the rant, but decided to press for an answer since it got boring fast. "[Well?]"

"Shut up Kenny, just let me- hey, wait... Wait a minute. What's in it for you?" Cartman suddenly asked.

"[Huh?]"

"Why would you want to go through this alone if you can avoid it, huh?" Eric asked, suspicion evident in his voice. "What are you not telling me?"

That was a good question; one to which Kenny didn't know the answer himself. Hearing it out loud made him realize how stupid it sounded, as he literally had nothing to gain from this. It was quite the opposite, in fact, and there was no doubt that missing Game of Thrones after two long years of waiting. So why was he doing this? Had he developed a masochistic side after experiencing so many painful deaths? Had he lost interest in Game of thrones after so much time without watching it?

"_No... The answer is obvious._"

It was about honor.

He knew of the cheating beforehand. He kept quiet and witnessed Cartman cheat against his friends, and he picked a challenge against him fully aware that it would not be a fair match. So mentioning the cheating now, when it would benefit him, would make him feel like a cheater himself. Besides, what was the point in calling out on the cheater AFTER he got what he wanted anyway? It was like waiting for a bomb to explode before telling everyone it was there. It was his mistake on not acting earlier, his mistake on picking a challenge he had nothing to do with and his mistake for losing. So it was only natural for him to own to his failures and pay for them himself, and not with the company of his friends.

"[Nothing. I just... deserve it.]" Kenny started, turning his back on Cartman, who watched in silence. "[I challenged you and I lost. I agreed to follow your orders if that happened, even though I wasn't even participating in the first place. And I intend to keep my word.]" He faced Cartman again, a fierce look in his eyes. "[Punish me and leave them out of this.]"

Cartman said nothing for a while, a stunned look on his face. "Wow... That... has to be the gayest thing I ever heard." He commented, sounding amused. "You do know that is literally the most stupid thing that has ever come out of your mouth, right? That you're literally asking me to forbid you to watch Game of Thrones?"

"[Whatever, fatass. Do we have a deal or not?]" Kenny asked, losing his patience.

"...You are as dumb as you look Kenny." Cartman sighed, rubbing his temple in frustration. "Fine, you win. I'll let those guys off for now." He said so with utter distate, much to Kenny's delight. "But if you want to play hero, then you better be prepared to have it hard."

"[What are you talking about?]" Kenny asked, genuinely confused. What could be worse than missing Game of Thrones to watch the girls's volleyball match?

"I'm talking about equivalent exchange, Kenny. I wanted seven people to miss the premiere, but instead I'll have just one. And since you're trying to protect them, it's only natural that you take their part in the punishment."

Kenny raised an eyebrow. He didn't like where this was going. "Your point?"

Cartman held his hands on his back, facing Kenny with a serious look. "I'm afraid you'll have to watch more than just one volleyball match, Kenny. If you really want to do this, you will have to watch their practices after school and whatever other matches they have as well, for the rest of the month." He declared.

"[...Last time I checked **you** were my bitch, not the other way around. What makes you think you can increase the punishment like that?]"

"Shut the fuck up Kenny, you damn hobo!" Cartman lost his cool again. "It's either that or we have no deal! I'll even tell them myself that I cheated, just to take that pleasure from you. And you can forget about this gay ass punishment you want! So what will it be, huh?!"

Kenny had to admit that he would love to see Cartman dig his own grave out of pettiness, and it sure was hilarious to see his stupid threats. But instead, Kenny said nothing, wondering if the redemption he sought for was really worth what he was getting himself into. A whole month girls's volleyball... Was his honor really worth that much?

...**Damn straight**.

"[Fine. I'll do it.]"

"What did you- ...Wait, are you serious...?" Cartman's face couldn't hide his disbelief.

Kenny nodded.

Cartman shook his head. "...Well Kenny, you are officially not just the poorest kid at school, but also the dumbest. You should be proud."

"[I have better grades than you, you know.]"

"Those mean nothing!" Cartman pointed a finger at Kenny. "And you better prepare yourself, Kenny. Because if you survive the girls's volleyball matches, I'll give you so many spoilers that you won't even have to watch the episodes at all." He made his way to the kitchen door, and was about to leave but then took a step back and faced Kenny again. "Oh, and Kenny?" He made dramatic pause. "I hate you."

With that he left, clearly in a bad mood, leaving an amused Kenny behind. The boy sighed, letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He wondered if he should praise himself for achieving his objective or curse his stupidity, like Cartman pointed out. He knew that it could have been easier for everyone - specially him - if he had called out on the cheating and invalidated the entire tournament, but he simply couldn't live with himself if he had chosen the easy way out. Besides, he felt like it was the right thing to do. He picked a fight he could have avoided and lost, so he would deal with the consequences of his actions and take his punishment like an honorable man.  
_  
"...I wonder how this will turn out." _He thought before heading out of the kitchen to meet back with everyone.

...

...

...

Prologue END 

* * *

**A/N: Well this is it for the prologue. I understand it might have ended up being a bit too long, but I wanted to give some decent context as well as a taste of Kenny's mindset. I always pictured him as being the opposite of his father: hard-working, honest, loyal and humble, so I hope I managed to reproduce that well. I would like to think that none of the characters sounded OOC, so I'd love to hear some feedback if possible. Our heroine will show up in the next chapter, so stay tuned! :)**


	3. Distrust

**Hello, internet users! Welcome back to another chapter of my fanfic, and thanks for sticking with me!**

**I just wanted to spare some time to apologize for how long it took me to update my story. I have been very busy lately, both with work and certain mobile games that have recently been taking more and more of my free time. If you play "South Park: Phone Destroyer" and/or "Fate/Grand Order", then you'll know what I'm talking about.**

**That being said, please enjoy!**

**EDIT: I have the terrible habit of uploading a chapter without giving it a complete read first, so it's not a surprise that the chapter was full of grammar mistakes, and even some pieces missing. Please let me know if you spot any, and I'll be sure to fix them.**

* * *

...

...

If there was a first time for everything, then this was definitely the first time in Kenny's life that he wished class would never end. And sadly, it didn't seem like it would be the last.

When he accepted Cartman's demand of attending the girls's volleyball training sessions, he most certainly wasn't expecting that there would be one in the very next day. Not just that, but apparently the girls were in some kind of tournament, and so they would have practice after class** the entire week**. But that wasn't all! If by any chance the girls won Sunday's match, they would have yet another game against a different team soon. It was like the boys's baseball matches, except that the girls actually enjoyed the sport they played and weren't being forced by their parents.

So basically, what concerned Kenny was that if the girls won, it would mean another week of daily training sessions that he would have to attend.

Faced with the new information, Kenny immediately confronted Cartman about it. Increasing his punishment was part of the deal, but that was ridiculous. Paying the equivalent of seven boys's worth of punishment was one thing, but that was nearly the equivalent for every boy in their entire grade. Naturally, Cartman's answer was a swift 'fuck you', and he spared no effort to remind Kenny that their agreement was for him to attend both the trainings and matches for the entire month, no matter how many of both there were.

And much to Kenny's annoyance, Cartman was right. Giving a second thought to such an agreement should have been obvious, but he was so concerned in fixing his mistakes that he ended up committing another one. And naturally, being the kind of person who would never break a promise, Kenny had no choice but to oblige.

Which was why he was currently standing by the gym doors, gathering the courage to push them open and enter. Kenny's self-awareness of what was to come affected his perception of time, which gave him the impression that classes had ended much faster than usual. Now, the only thing separating him from what he assumed would be a very tedious afternoon was the two wooden doors he was looking at. Of course, there was always the option of commiting suicide and waking up in his bed like nothing happened. But that would be no different than running away, which needless to say was not an option.

"Kenny, are... are you going to be fine?" Kyle asked, standing a few meters away from Kenny, along with the other boys involved in the tournament from the previous day. They all watched Kenny with concern in their eyes as if he was walking straight towards his execution site - except for Cartman of course, who looked pleased.

Stan looked deeply bothered. "This isn't right..." He said to one in particular.

"Don't do it Kenny! You're going to die!" An exasperated Butters called.

"Shut up, you guys! He asked for this, so there's no backing out now. Unless you want to miss Game of Thrones with him? Huh?" Cartman taunted, and if anyone had anything to say then they gave up at that moment, looking dejectedly at the floor. "That's what I thought." Cartman scoffed, looking back at Kenny. "Get in there already, Kenny! I don't have all day!"

Kenny frowned, his back still facing his friends. He knew they wouldn't do for him what he did for them, but it wasn't like he ever expected them to. Two years of waiting for the series's finale had them incredibly excited and looking forward to it like never before. The books aside, since books are gay, Game of Thrones was undoubtely the heart - the very core of their fantasy games, the same way superhero franchises inspired them to create their own. Kenny knew how important the show was for everyone, not just for all the action, drama, romance and big-breasted beauties getting naked, but also for how they incorporated all that into their own fantasy world. After all, what show could possibly inspire them to come up with clever treasons, exciting backstories and the most epic battles better than the worldwide famous show?

Which was why despite looking genuinely concerned for Kenny the other boys didn't move a muscle to help him. But Kenny was neither surprised or disappointed with that. He knew that the kind of sacrifice he was doing was by no means easy or profittable in any way, so his friends's hesitation was perfectly understandable. Besides, if they tried to help they would completely ruin everything Kenny had fought for - which was none other than their freedom to watch the show and to avoid any contact with volleyball. Of course, Kenny would be more than glad if his friends relinquished watching the show just to ease his burden, but there was simply no benefits in doing that. Faced with their reluctance though, he had no choice but to believe his friendship meant more to them than a show, and that he was merely a victim of a consequence this time.

Kenny took a step forward and placed one hand in the door handle hesitantly. Inevitably, he started having second thoughts about this whole mess he got himself into, but somehow managed to keep calm and shove these thoughts away. It was far too late to run away- not that he would anyway. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath to try and mentally prepare himself for what was to come. It wouldn't be easy. It wouldn't be pleasant. And there was no turning back.

"_...Let's get this over with." _He thought as he refused to hesitate for a second longer.

Clinging to the sudden feeling of determination, Kenny pushed the doors open and quickly entered the gym, not sparing a glance to the stunned crowd of boys left behind. No one said a word as they watched the doors for several seconds.

"...He's so dead." Craig commented.

"You guys think he'll be fine?" Butters asked no one in particular.

"...I hope so. He didn't deserve that." Stan muttered, hands shoved inside his pockets.

"Yeah, right." Cartman said, an unreadable expression on his face.

Kyle frowned. "You still haven't told us what made you change your mind, Cartman. Why did you decide to punish just Kenny?" The jew questioned, and-

"That's none of your damn business Kyle, you damn jew!" Cartman growled before walking away, fuming.

Needless to say, the boys were left behind in stunning silence.

"Uh..."

"...Dude. What the hell?" Stan muttered.

Butters shook his head. "I have no idea."

Kyle watched the fat boy in disbelief. "...All I know for sure is that whatever Kenny did... Cartman is _pissed_."

The boys nodded, wondering what the hell had happened in that kitchen...

* * *

...

Kenny didn't know what exactly he was expecting from a volleyball practice involving girls, but it sure took him off guard to realize that it actually seemed pretty normal.

Once he entered the gym, he noticed they were already engaged in their training. Sounds of bouncing volleyballs and feminine voices engaged in conversation made their way into his ears the moment he stepped into the closed room, and they were enough to increase his heartbeat rate to at least twice it's normal speed. He wasn't surprised to find out that there was no signs of boys anywhere in the field or in the bleachers, though it didn't make the situation any less awkward or complicated for him.

As far as he could see, their training itself was nothing special or extravagant, which he found a bit weird considering they had a big game coming soon. In groups of three, most of the girls were apparently bouncing the volleyballs to one another and trying to keep them in the air for as long as possible without letting them fall to the ground. A small group was stretching, while some of them ran laps around the field and some were happily chatting with girls sitting in the bleachers. Pretty much all the girls in Kenny's class were there, along with some other 4th graders from different classes. Kenny knew some of them by name, some by their faces alone, some by both, and the rest he didn't really know at all. But then again, there weren't nearly as many girls there as Kenny was expecting, so he had that going for him at least.

But despite being a pretty normal training session, Kenny still felt like he was in an entirely different planet. Being alone among so many girls was highly unsettling for someone so used to male company, specially when he wasn't really close to any of them. He had been on foreign countries, on space and even on hell (and heaven) itself. But none of these places made him as uncomfortable as where he was standing now. Like a room detached from reality, the whole atmosphere around those girls was unlike anything he had ever experienced before. It wasn't like he had some kind of phobia for girls, or was still at that age where 'girls have cooties', or even had any issues developing new friendships. But he was clearly not only out of his comfort zone, but was also out of place. The environment wasn't really welcoming for boys; just like how the games he and his friends are used to play weren't any appealing to girls. The difference was as clear as night and day.

He peered silently at them by the doors, actually considering turning back and leaving before they noticed him. But it didn't really take long for someone to become aware of his presence; his orange parka earning the attention of even the girls farther away from him thanks to it's huge contrast from the white and green gym uniform. As if previously arranged, every single girl threw an incredibly unfriendly glare towards him as soon as their eyes met him, as if he had been caught breaking into their house or something. One by one, the girls would stop what they were doing and just silently direct a piercing gaze towards him.

But hey, no pressure.

Once Kenny realized that standing there like a moron wouldn't exactly make things any better for him, he nervously took a few steps forward and tried to make his voice sound as friendly as humanly possible. He considered removing his parka for some reason, but honestly felt like it'd probably be better to keep his face partially hidden as usual.

"[...Hey girls!]" He greeted, waving at them.

No response.

Like a parliament of owls, the girls maintained their nasty glares directed at him while remaining in silence. Waiting.

Realizing he wouldn't recieve a proper greeting back, he decided to go straight to the point. "[So, uh... I've been thinking, and... I'd like to watch you girls practice.]" He said, hoping it wouldn't come out as too weird.

Finally, the girls moved, but he figured the way they looked at each other in response to his statement wasn't a good sign. Several girls whispered to themselves and/or raised eyebrows at him, very evidently suspicious.

"Why?" The question came from his classmate Rebecca, also known as Red, who was still scowling at him.

That was a good fucking question indeed. Of course, Kenny had a good reason to be there, but despite taking pride in being an honest person, he figured that telling the truth right off the bat wouldn't exactly do wonders for him. If one thing was for sure is that he wouldn't ease any of that tension by admitting he was there against his will.

"[Well, you see... I heard you have a big game coming soon against Evergreen Hills, so I thought maybe I could watch it. Then I heard you had practice today, so...]" He said, hoping for the everliving shit of him that he got the opposing team's name right.

For the first time after a long streak of getting himself in bad situations, it seemed like Lady Luck finally decided to smile upon him. He let out a sigh of relief as some of the hostility in the air died down. He felt bad for not telling the whole truth, specially since it could cause him even more trouble, but damn, was it effective. Faking an interest in the sport AND mentioning the school they'd play against (correctly, apparently) did seem to suggest that he actually knew what he was talking about, or at least that he cared about it. And it brought results, as despite still being somewhat suspicious, the whispers and the overall look in the girls's faces changed ever-so slightly. It was definitely a huge improvement from when they started, and seeing that actually gave Kenny some hope to believe that a non-disastrous day would actually be possible.

His hope was short-lived, whoever, when he took notice of one girl whose frown hadn't disappeared.

"Cartman put you up to this, didn't he?" The girl was none other than Heidi, her tone filled with anger yet still calm. "To keep an eye on me? To keep track of what I'm doing and who I'm hanging out with?" She accused, and Kenny immediately saw whatever trust he could have built with the girls crumble to pieces. She saw right through him, but had Cartman's involvement clearly wrong. And naturally, there was no way to clear the misunderstanding without literally going against what he had just said. The glares were replaced with inquisitive, studying looks, but weren't any less intense.

Great.

"[No, I-]"

"Well, tell him to give it up! I'm done with him, no matter what he tries this time. I won't let him manipulate me ever again!" She declared, and as if to prove that things could always get worse, to put the cherry on top of it, she actually started sobbing.

Some girls approached her with concerned expressions and tried to comfort her with gentle pats to her shoulder. Even Kenny himself felt sympathetic for her, unable to imagine how stressful a relationship with Cartman could be when his friendship alone was nearly unbearable.

Both holy hell, did she just made things a hundred times worse for him.

If befriending the girls wasn't hard enough as it was, he knew that being accused of being a spy (and on top of that making a girl cry) would definitely not help his case. Things started going downhill fast, and slowly, the glares started coming back, one by one. He had to do something, anything, or the situation would escalate to something he wouldn't be able to repair.

Cautiously, he approached the crying girl. The supporting group next to her eyed him with even more menace than the usual glares, like lionesses protecting their lion cub from a dangerous predator.

He ignored them, avoiding eye contact but not getting too close either. "[Heidi... I'm sorry for what Cartman must have done to you. He is a piece of shit of a human being, and it's good to know that you moved on. You deserve better than that.]" He got her attention. "[But I'm not here to spy on you or any of the girls, specially not for an asshole like him. You have to believe me.]"

Still sobbing, Heidi looked at him uncertainly and eventually approached him with a frown. "...Promise me. Look at me in the eyes and promise me you're not here because of him."

"[I would never do this to anyone or for anyone. You have my word.]" Kenny answered without a second thought.

And he wasn't lying.

He was someone who took promises very seriously, and he would never exploit one for the sake of achieving meaningless victories. He was not there because of Cartman or his stupid rule. He was there because of his friends and himself. He was there because of his honor, and Cartman was merely a consequence. He looked deep into the girl's eyes and hoped she could see the sincerity in his eyes and words.

Heidi broke down in another fit of uncontrollable sobbing, but literally no one was expecting her to reach out and tightly hug Kenny as a result. The boy froze in absolute shock as Heidi buried her face on his shoulder and let out months of pent-up frustration and emotional wounds, crying like a lost child in a shopping center. He could feel her tears as they dampened his hoodie, but he was honestly so astounded with this turn of events that he had no idea what to do next. The sweet scent of lavender shampoo was messing with his head even more. Believing in him was one thing, but that? How was he supposed to react to that?! Should he hug her back? Pat her head? Try to comfort her with-

Oh my Satan, why the _**fuck**_™ was his little buddy reacting to the sudden proximity, now of all times?!

With that betrayal, he had no choice but to act **fast. **Since there were far too many options and too little time to think about them, he decided to do them all at once. He returned the hug, using one hand to embrace her and one hand to softly pat her head. Muttering a comforting 'there, there' on her ear, he hoped no one would notice how he slightly pulled his lower body away from hers. Thankfully, his little pal wasn't at full power yet, and would hopefully calm down if he somehow managed to escape from her bear hug.

Thankfully, she eventually let go of him and started wiping her tears, looking calmer and as if she had just let go of a huge burden she was carrying. Kenny immediately shoved his hands in his pockets in order to keep his treacherous's little friend's presence unknown, but genuinely smiled at how Heidi's expression relaxed.

"...Sorry about that." She said, still wiping her tears. "But... Thanks." She said, smiling a little. Kenny nodded, still smiling himself. But of course, she had no way of knowing that.

"Oh please, don't fall for this, Heidi!" Someone suddenly yelled, and Kenny's little friend immediately dropped down in defeat. One less problem to deal with, at least.

_"For fuck sake... What now?" _Kenny thought as he turned to find the source of the voice, letting out an annoyed sigh.

It was none other than Nelly, the girl who wanted to beat up Butters back when the whole gender war was at it's peak, but was stopped by Cartman and Heidi herself. Kenny didn't know her last name or care about it, but if there was one thing he knew about this girl was that she seemingly had a strong aversion to boys. She seemed more pissed than the others with the whole trolling incident and the 'Wieners Out' movement Butters started, and Kenny would assume it got even worse when her ex-boyfriend Francis joined.

Nelly had a nasty frown on her face as she continued. "Have you forgotten what those boys did to us in the only match they ever attended? How they ridiculed and harrassed us for weeks by pulling down their pants whenever they had a chance?!" She hissed, pointing an accusing finger towards Kenny the whole time. Girls around her seemed to agree, as Kenny heard a few 'yeahs' and 'she's right', which needless to say wasn't a good thing for him. "Even if he's not here to spy on you, I bet the boys are planning something again!"

By now, Kenny was more annoyed than concerned about keeping appearances and being friendly. "[How many times do I have to explain this shit? I'm just here to watch, nothing more. And I'm not a representative for all boys, but I assure you we aren't 'planning' anything, whatever that means."]

"You're lying!" She accused. Geez, she wasn't the friendliest, was she?

Unfortunately, it seemed that the surrounding girls agreed with her. Again, the situation seemed to have taken a turn for the worse when the glares started to come back, one by one. And this time, Kenny had no idea what to.

_"Fuck... Is there even anything I can say that will make them change their minds...?!"_

To Kenny's surprise, someone actually stepped up for him. "Calm down, everyone. I think it's unfair to accuse him without any proof. He deserves the benefit of doubt, at least."

He wasn't really expecting anyone's support, given how he was clearly outnumbered and surrounded by people who pretty much hated him for being a boy. If by any chance someone decided to help him out, he figured it would be Heidi, not only because of their little moment just now, but also because they were friendly with one another back when she still dated Cartman (and wasn't a fitting image of him).

But Wendy of all people was certainly not the person he was expecting to stand up for him.

Nelly scoffed. "Come on, Wendy! You honestly think he's here just to watch?" She insisted, raising an eyebrow in disbelief. "Isn't it incredibly convenient that he suddenly started liking volleyball and then came straight here?" She started poking her own head. "Use your brain! It's obvious that he is here to mess with us somehow!" She said, directing her glare at Wendy but still pointing towards Kenny.

"[...Or maybe I'm here just to watch.]"

"Like hell you are!" She growled.

"What's going on here?" A female voice interjected. Everyone turned to see an older woman approaching them. She was well-built and had short, spiky blonde hair with black hair appearing underneath. She was wearing a white shirt and a green jacket with a dark green and white trim that has the South Park Cows logo on it, as well as green, white, and dark green pants. Finally, she also had gray shoes, a black watch, and was wearing a whistle around her neck. Kenny recognized her as the coach that went to his class days ago, back when they were engaged in Cock Magic.

"Coach, this is Kenny." Wendy made a gesture towards the boy, who nodded. "He is from my class, and he said that he wants to watch our practice."

"Except that he doesn't!" Now it was Nelly interjecting, frowning. "Coach, I'm sure you remember what happened the last time boys showed up to our games, don't you?"

"How could I forget...?" The woman said somberly, letting out a sigh as she remembered all the complaints the opposing school made about South Park Elementary allowing their students to practice indecent exposure in public events. The headache never truly went away.

"Then you have to stop this! We don't want him here!" Nelly said, and several girls supported her. It would seem that the great majority was as uncomfortable with his presence as he was with theirs.

The woman turned a stern look towards Kenny. "Well, young man, what do you have to say for yourself?"

Kenny sighed, craving for death. "[Like I keep trying to explain, uh... ma'am... I am not here to cause trouble. Unlike me, the other boys my age don't like volleyball, which is why we don't have an official team. I just thought it could be, ah... fun to watch the girls play.]" Kenny said, having some difficulty to find the right words.

The coach blinked several times, looking very confused. "...Uh... Can someone... Translate?"

Kenny face-palmed. Of course, another dumb adult had trouble understanding him. Maybe he was partly to blame, but people his age never had any problems with that. He couldn't for the life of him figure out why adults were an exception.

Wendy rolled her eyes, giving the coach a brief explanation of what he had just said, and for some reason emphasizing parts like his supposed interest in the sport and his insistence that he wasn't trying to do anything wrong. He couldn't understand why she was helping him, nor could he read her expression. She wasn't glaring at him like the others, or seemed suspicious of him. For some reason she was acting pretty normal, and he couldn't decide if that was a good thing or just plain unsettling.

"...I see..." The coach rubbed her chin. "Alright well... Wendy, you're the team's captain. What do you have to say about this?"

The girl turned to peer at Kenny, who returned a curious, concerned look. "...As long as he doesn't cause any trouble, I have no problem with it." She said, confusing the immortal even more.

"Are you serious?!" Some random girl asked, and many joined her.

"Be quiet, girls!" The coach ordered, and soon all the noise died down. She scratched her head, turning to face Kenny. "Alright, boy, listen up. I personally see no problem in letting you watch their training. In fact, given our usually poor number of spectators, it really makes me happy to see someone willing to spend their afternoon watching their practice. So with that in mind, you are welcome to stay." She said, and Kenny let out a sigh of relief. "However," She continued. "Let me make it perfectly clear that the girls here take the sport very seriously. It is important to them and they are very dedicated to it. So if by any chance they are right and you are here under false pretenses, then you'd better leave through that door right now. I will **not** tolerate any kind of harrassment, stupid jokes and specially not any kind of indecent exposure in my gym. Otherwise, I will take you to the principal myself and make sure you are punished for it. Have I made myself clear?" She asked sternly.

Kenny was a bit stunned. He always took the girls's volleyball as a joke, but seeing just how serious they were about made him develop some respect to it. Realizing he gave no response to the coach's inquire, he quickly nodded. "[Uh-huh.]"

The coach nodded back, satisfied. "Good. Well, have a seat. We are about to get started."

With that, the coach turned on her back and blew the whistle by her neck, screaming orders at the girls. There were still several outraged scowls directed at Kenny, but eventually the girls dispersed and started to follow the coach's instructions, much to his relief.

Mentally exhausted, Kenny made his way to the bleachers and sat as far away from the female spectators as possible, avoiding eye contact with them as he looked for a nice spot to watch the practice. So much had happened in the few minutes he had been in that gym that he wondered if he could actually survive an entire month of it. One moment he was being glared at, then accused of something he didn't do, then had crying girls throw themselves at him... And of course, how could he forget the most awkward boner he had ever had?

It was insane. If this was what being around girls was like, then he felt strongly compelled to let go of his pride and never set foot into that gym again; maybe even kill himself somehow just to end up in his bed, away from that mess. He didn't belong there, and not even if he spent a whole year visiting them regularly he would be able to change that fact. What's worse, he wasn't even **wanted** there. Those who weren't completely against his presence simply didn't care about him at all. For all he knew, the only person who was actually pleased in seeing him there was the coach, but that didn't really make him feel any better.

He let out a depressed sigh as he realized the worse was yet to come. Right now, the girls were setting up the net so that they could do a training match. At the very least, they seemed to have mostly forgotten about his presence, too focused on their affairs to glare at him. But of course, that only applied to those donning the South Park Cows uniform. The girls who were there to spectate, like him, were still very aware of him being there. He knew they were whispering about him, but he still refused to acknowledge their presence since doing so would probably only make things worse.

_"...Maybe there is still time to point out Cartman's cheating and end this nonsense. I haven't even seen them play yet and I am already on my wit's end... There's no way I can deal with this bullshit for a whole month. I will fucking die,. And what's worse: It won't make a damn difference." _He growled, contemplating his own immortality with the usual scorn and resentment.

Feeling tired, he placed both elbows on the upper side of his thighs and leaned forward, using his hands and arms to hold and support his head. His excuse for being there was that he liked volleyball and thought it would be fun to watch, so not doing so would give even more reason for the girls to suspect him. Browsing his phone, napping, and even using the time to do his homework was out of the question. With a reluctant sigh, he fought the urge to shoot himself and forced himself to watch.

With the net properly set into a suitable height for girls their age and size, the girls were now dividing themselves into two teams. One of them was filled with girls Kenny either didn't know or only knew by face. The only exception was Millie Larsen, who Kenny found kind of hot. Seeing her there reminded him of the time he was possessing Rob Schneider's body. It's a shame that he was arrested for pedophilia before he got to kiss her...

The other team, on the other hand, had a few more familiar faces. Red, Annie and Bebe were from his class, and also part of the 'popular' (hot) girls. There were a few other girls he knew in that team who were also popular (hot), like Ashley, Jenny, and...

Wendy.

Kenny watched as the girl in pink hat gave out instructions to her teammates; some random girl from the other team doing the same. He knew Wendy had a strong personality, but it would seem like she was also a good leader. Like the coach said, all the girls seemed to take volleyball very seriously, as they were listening intently to Wendy's commands as she formed a winning strategy. From where he stood, Kenny couldn't really make out anything that she was saying, but from her facial expressions and the gestures she was making with her arms, he figured she was assigning positions on the field for each girl to stand on, as well as what they were supposed to be doing there - most likely taking into consideration their strenghts and weaknesses. And he had to admit: it was rather interesting to watch.

_"I have no idea why she decided to help me. I don't think I ever talked to her outside of school projects; not even when she was still dating Stan. Well, I should thank her anyway when I get the chance. They would have probably kicked me out by force if not for her."_

Lost in thought, Kenny snapped out of it when the coach blew her whistle again. The two groups of girls dispersed, taking her respective positions on the field. On each team, there were three girls directly in front of the net and three girls a few steps behind them. After a quick rock-paper-scissors game between each team's leaders, Wendy got the ball and went to the far back of her side of the field, stepping out of it and standing directly in front of the line.

Once the coach used her whistle again, Kenny was finally able to see just how serious these girls were about their game. Wendy immediately served the ball and joined the two girls in the back, while the other team moved to recieve the ball accordingly. One of the girls in the back intercepted the ball and sent it flying upwards a short distance, while yet another girl sent the ball towards the front row. Finally, a third girl jumped and brought her arm down like a lightning bolt, hitting the ball with a thunderous blow and sending it over the net in seconds, but Bebe stopped it from hitting the ground and the game continued.

Kenny couldn't help but widen his eyes in amazement. Holy shit, these girls were hardcore. Perhaps it was a bit mysoginistic of him, but he always expected the girls's volleyball to be as boring as stale white bread. He figured the games would be slow, without barely any excitement and full of fussyness over the smallest details, like broken nails or something like that. But it was the complete opposite of that. They all played like their lives depended on it; every drop of sweat was filled with genuine hard-work and passion for what they were doing. And damn, was it thrilling.

Even the female spectators had seemingly forgotten about Kenny for a while, too entertained with the match to pay him any mind. In fact, Kenny could have easily mistaken this practice for an actual game, given how the girls were clearly going all-out from the beginning. Even he found himself unable to tear his eyes away; his fatigue vanishing as he watched what should clearly be in a Top 10 Anime Battles video. Points would come in one after another, and Kenny couldn't help but find himself cheering as well.

_"Damn, these girls aren't half-bad! I never thought it was possible to enjoy a girls's volleyball game, but man, did they prove me wrong."_

Between a team of classmates and a team of unfamiliar faces, Kenny found himself rooting for the former. As the game kept going, Kenny found himself getting more and more absorbed by it, eventually loosening up and becoming comfortable enough to go from cheering quietly to even clapping. They weren't pros, but they would definitely reach that level someday with that level of dedication. It wasn't intense, dramatic, nor was it filled with action and danger like his adventures, but he had to admit it was pretty entertaining. He actually felt bad for never giving them a chance to show what they were about, thanks to a misguided, biased view pre-judgement that it would be trash. But now, seeing them put so much heart into such a simple sport made him more actually think that maybe a month of it wouldn't be so bad. Yes, he was despised, unwanted and none of them trusted him, but it wasn't like he was getting married to any of them. The glares and whispers were annoying, but whatever their view of him, he would keep his promise and see this whole ordeal to it's end.

The first set (out of three) ended with a victory for Wendy's team, with a difference in scores of merely four points. As if they had unlimited stamina, the second set was just as intense as the first, and again, both teams were on equal footing. As it turns out, watching the practice ended up being pretty educational for Kenny. By watching them, he not only learned the names of a few popular (hot) girls, but also a few things about the sport in general. To win a match, you need to win at least two sets, and to win a set you need to have at least 25 points and, on top of that, have at least 2 points more than the opposing team. Thanks to that, sets could last forever, since you could keep scoring past the 25 minimum until one team got 2 points more than the other. And when equally skilled teams faced each other, a point difference was quite difficult to obtain.

Which is why the second set took a lot more time to end. Compared to the 25 to 21 scores from the last set, Kenny was now looking at a 34 to 34, with no end in sight. He was at the edge of his seat, never in his wildest dreams ever imagining himself feeling that tense over a (girls's) volleyball match. He was throughly impressed with their performance, and was actually pretty excited to find out who would win in the end.

He was particularly intrigued by one girl in particular. Her skills at the game had caught his attention before, but the more he watched her, the more he understood just why the girl with the pink hat was the team's captain. She was like a king piece in a chess game; masterfully commanding her team yet still being part of the action. As the field rotated, she proved herself to be very capable both at the front and back rows, executing her roles with great dexterity while still paying attention to her teammates performance and guiding them. It reminded him of when he played 'Heaven vs Hell' on the PSP.

_"Wendy really is something else. They are all pretty good, but she stands out from the rest."_ He thought, giving her a meaningful, curious look._ "I might be a dick for thinking this, but she is pretty cute, too... We used to tease Stan for being so head over heels for her, but I'm starting to see why. Heh... The irony."_ Kenny grinned, eventually trying to focus his attention back to the game and not stare at one of his best friends's former girlfriend.

But it was hard, especially since the way she stood up for him earlier was still fresh on his mind. Considering her strong morals and how she was firm to her beliefs, he would have expected her to be as indignant and resentful of boys as Nelly was, if not more. From what Kenny knew, she never spoke to Stan again after his final attempt at getting back with her. Considering how some couples, like Token and Nichole, had sorted their differences and got back together after some time, it was a bit shocking that Wendy didn't accept him back, specially since she seemed a bit reluctant to even break-up with him in the first place. But that aside, since Stan was the only connection Kenny had to her other than being her classmate, he really couldn't figure out why she would go against her friends for him.

Making a mental note to ask her about it, he watched with great interest as the match reached it's climax.

The opposing team - let's call it Team B - scored a point. 34 to 35.

A girl from Team B served the ball, but it didn't make past the net. 35 to 35.

Wendy's team rotated clockwise on the field, changing positions. Bebe served the ball. Team B was successful in recieving it and attempted to score a point by aiming at an empty spot, but a block from Annie resulted in yet another point for their team. 36 to 35.

Kenny unconsciously gripped his knees, feeling so tense that he could probably shatter to pieces if someone pushed him over.

"[Come on, damn it. Just one more point...]" He muttered, unable to keep the thought in his head. Part of him wanted to see the girls play some more, but an even stronger one wanted to see his classmates emerge victorious. He then realized that he wasn't cheering on them over unconsciously picking the lesser of two tedious groups as a way for time to pass faster. His prejudice against the sport and it's players was long gone, and he felt like genuinely giving them the support they deserved out of his own will. He watched as Wendy herself positioned herself back to the same spot she started the match at, ready to serve the ball and hopefully score the point that would earn her victory. "[Go, Wendy! You can do it!]" He found himself cheering loudly.

If she heard him, then she didn't give away any signs of acknowledging his incentive. After a few tense moments, Wendy successfully served the ball to the other side of the court, giving birth to 43 seconds of pure anxiety, stress and apprehension for everyone in that gym. Team A was determined to win, and Team B was determined to not let them. Both teams were dead set in achieving their objectives; their bloodlust and desire to win overwhelming their exhaustion and fueling their spirits with a resolve that stunned Kenny into speechlessness. Points usually took a maximum of 20 seconds to occur, very rarely taking any more time than that. But for these girls to keep an evenly match for nearly an entire minute wasn't thanks to luck or any technical issues. It was nothing but their persistence and determination that drove them forward.

And eventually, Kenny was finally able to let out a breath he didn't know he was holding when Team A finally scored the winning point thanks to a failed attempt from Team B at defending a crushing blow from Annie. The ball landed on the wrong part of a girl's forearm, bouncing directly into the floor as a result and leaving no room for any defensive measure. The moment that happened, Kenny jumped from his seat and threw his arms to the air, exploding (figuratively) into a sudden wave of excitement.

"[Woohoo!]" He cheered, watching as both teams reacted to this turn of events in the way it was to be expected. Team A's players hugged each other and happily celebrated their well deserved victory, while Team B looked disappointed and frustrated. Regardless, both teams demonstrated their mutual respect moments after, shaking each other's hands with smiles on their faces. If these were fake or not, Kenny couldn't tell. Once it was all over, the girls finally started showing signs of fatigue; panting heavily for air as they gulped down their water bottles.

Kenny settled down himself, regaining his composure and taking some time to breathe. His presence long forgotten (or at least very well ignored), he noticed that all girls present had reverted back to how they were when he arrived; save, of course, for the fact that most of them were drenched in sweat and as tired as one could get after long periods of physical exercise. Despite that, they were all back to happily chatting and enjoying themselves, as if he had never intruded on their little world.

_"They aren't that unpleasant when they aren't glaring at me like a bunch of assholes."_ Kenny thought. _"If only they weren't so damn stubborn, things would have gone back to normal months ago. Why can't they realize that this mess is now entirely on their heads?" _

"Alright girls, one moment of your attention please!" The coach suddenly called, and all the girls in the court turned to face her. "We are short on time today since the basketball team will be using the gym next. As such, I'm sorry girls, but we'll have to leave your rematch for tomorrow." She said to the losing team, who seemed genuinely disappointed. It was a wonder that they were still willing to play after such an intense match. "Regardless, I just wanted to say how proud I am of you girls. I know better than anyone how much effort, sweat and tears you girls have put in for volleyball, and the results are as clear as day and night. Remember your training, as well as everything you learned from your past mistakes, and I know we will emerge victorious on sunday!"

"Yeah!" All girls responded in one voice, as determined as ever.

And with that, the training was officially over. After congratulating the girls one more time for their magnificent performance, the coach assigned a few girls to dismount and retrieve the net, then excused herself to the teacher's room. Aside from the girls working on the net, everyone else gathered their belongings and either headed for the exit or for the changing rooms, happily commenting on the game as they did so. Kenny was disappointed that the match was over instead of relieved, and that made him feel a bit weird. He decided to wait for the majority of girls to leave, since he didn't want to get within an arm's reach from any of them. He doubted they would stab the shit out of him with a nail file, but it never hurt to be cautious around girls, specially when they were pissed.

As he got ready to leave, he noticed that Wendy was waiting by the gym doors; most likely waiting for the girls to finish with the net. He considered taking the opportunity to thank her and maybe question why she decided to help him. But for some reason he felt a bit nervous to approach her. It's not like he liked her, but he still didn't know what to make of her actions, and that confused him. Despite that, he figured there was no better opportunity to show her his gratitude. Once he got up, however, he noticed that the girls were having trouble with the net; all of them being a bit too short to reach the higher hooks that were keeping it in place. He wanted to ignore them and just leave, avoiding more trouble in the process, but a side of him simply couldn't watch that scene and not offer to help. They treated him like trash, but that didn't mean he had to act like one to get back at them. It'd just prove their point and make them dislike him even more.

Sighing, Kenny got up from the bleachers hesitantly approached the girls. Thankfully, one of the four girls were his classmates, so he felt a bit comfortable to approach her.

"[Hey, um... Do you need some help?]" He offered, half-expecting them to either ignore him or pull out a gun and shoot his balls.

Bebe turned to face him with a smile. "Oh, you want to help? Sure!" She said, stepping down from the chair. "Can you unhook that strap over there?" She said, pointing towards the part of the net that she had been struggling with. Nodding, he got up on the chair, feeling relieved. That went better than he expected.

_"Maybe those girls aren't so bad after all."_ He thought as he stretched to reach the net, standing on this tip of his feet to do so.

It was then that he heard Bebe's voice again. "When you're done, make sure you fold the net and take it to the equipment room, okay? Okay thanks, byeee~"

...Wait, what?

Kenny turned to find Bebe and the other girls on their way to the exit, leaving him alone to deal with the net. Did... Did they just dump all the work on him?

_"...I take it back."_ He thought as he glared at Bebe's receding back. If she didn't have such a nice ass, he'd have probably been a lot angrier at her. He averted his gaze from it though, fearing the very likely possibility of forgiving her because of those tight shorts. Those were his kryptonite.

"Bebe, you can't dump your duties on someone else!" Kenny heard a female voice reprimanding the blonde, but the girl and her friends were long gone. Sighing, the owner of the voice made her way towards Kenny.

Wendy...

"Sorry about that. She always does that." Wendy said as she approached the boy. "I'll help you." She offered, holding the bottom part of the net.

"[S-Sure... Thanks.]" A surprised Kenny said, proceeding to go back to what he was previously doing. He was a bit overwhelmed with the sudden presence of the girl he had been watching for the past few hours, and as a result he found his movements getting significantly clumsier. Thankfully, he managed to successfully unhook the net after some time without making a complete fool of himself. Still holding the net, Wendy made sure it didn't fall to the ground and got hopelessly tangled, keeping it extended and therefore easier to fold afterwards.

"Great. Let's move to the other side." Wendy said as she carefully placed the net on ground.

Nodding, Kenny grabbed the chair and moved it next to the other metal pole, proceeding to stand on top of it like before and working on unhooking the other upper part of the net. Meanwhile, Wendy worked on the bottom hook, which she could easily deal with from where she stood. Her shoulder was centimeters away from Kenny's leg, and added to the absolute silence between them, the atmosphere was even more awkward than when Kenny first entered the gym.

"It was nice of you to offer to help with the net." Wendy said suddenly, which for Kenny was a relief. It would have probably taken him an hour to come up with a decent way to start a conversation, so it was a good thing that she took the initiative. "It was a surprise, considering how they were treating you earlier."

"[Ah, uh, yeah. It would have left a bad taste on my mouth to leave when they clearly needed help. I know it sounds lame, but I felt that I should at least ask.]" He said, unhooking the net and stepping down from the chair.

"I don't think it was lame at all. It was a very sweet gesture, and I respect that." She said, keeping her gaze down and focused on what she was doing. "I suppose that as the team's captain I owe you an apology on their behalf. I wish I could say this was the first and last time something like this happens, but I know these girls better." She sighed.

"[You don't need to apologize to me. It's not like you can be held responsible for everything they do, right? Besides, I'm not really angry at them.]" Kenny said in a rather reassuring tone. He wasn't sure if his forgiveness was a result of Wendy's admirable attitude or if he ended up losing to Bebe's ass and her shorts after all. Either way, the point is that Kenny didn't really see the chore bestowed upon him as a bother. "[Íf anything, this is better than being glared at.]

Wendy giggled at that, and Kenny took it as a small victory for some reason. "I'm afraid I can't relate to that, but I'll take your word for it." She said with a small smile. Approaching Kenny, she grabbed the part of the net that he was holding, keeping both the top and bottom corners of the left side of the net in her hold. "Can you help me with the other side of the net? I'll show you how to fold it."

With a quick 'uh-huh', Kenny made his way back to the other end of the net, taking both corners of it the same way Wendy had the other ones. As she gave him brief instructions and they folded the net together, Kenny decided to not go back to that uncomfortable silence.

"[So, ah... Congratulations on winning that match. You and your team did great.]"

At this Wendy looked up, surprise evident in her eyes. "Oh... Thanks." She awkwardly averted her gaze, fighting a blush, which thankfully Kenny didn't seem to notice. "To be honest, a part of me was half-expecting you to not watch the game at all." She added.

"[Hm... So you didn't have much faith in me either, huh?]" He said, a bit disappointed, but managing to not make it evident. It made sense though, so he really couldn't complain. The fact that she helped him out didn't necessarily meant that she trusted him, a foreigner to her enviroment, completely.

She shook her head. "I wasn't expecting you to cause trouble or anything of the sort. I just wasn't sure what to think about your sudden interest in our practice. The way you showed up here was so sudden that it took several of us by surprise." She clarified.

"[...I understand.]" Kenny sighed. "[To be honest, I had my own doubts about this. It wasn't until recently that I took a liking for the sport, and I knew that coming here today was probably not a good idea. But then I heard about your match, and... I don't know. I guess you could say I was curious.]" He said, feeling a bit angry at himself. He wasn't telling lies, but telling half-truths didn't exactly make him feel 100% honest.

"Hm... I see." Wendy said simply. A short silence took place as they finished folding the net and moved on to removing the metal poles from the ground. "Well? Did you sate your curiosity?" She suddenly asked.

Kenny took a few seconds to think about it. "[...I did. ...And honestly?] He started, causing her to finally look up from what she was doing and face him. "[Despite everything, I'm glad that I came here today.]" He told her, and that one sentence carried so much truth that he felt cleansed from all the ambiguous answers he gave throughout the day.

Wendy said nothing, eyes still locked with his. And if she had anything to say, it was cut shortly by her phone, which started buzzing and ringing with a loud Jonas Brothers song that Kenny still had nightmares with. A quick peek at her screen as she checked it herself showed Kenny that she was being called by one of the girls.

"...I have to go. I hate to ask, but do you mind taking these to the supply room yourself? Ugh, I still haven't even taken a bath..." She said, though the last part came out mostly as a rambling to herself. She cancelled the call, but immediately opened a messaging app and texted something to the girl in question.

"[Sure, no problem.]" Kenny said, easily grabbing the folded net with one hand, while using his other arm to hold the two metal poles horizontally. His imaginative head was already picturing himself holding a shield and a lance, so bringing these by himself would most certainly not be a problem.

"I ended up dumping the work on you in the end too, huh?" She said as she grabbed her stuff in a hurry. "Are you sure you're ok with it?"

Kenny shook his head. "[Really, it's fine.]

"Alright then. Sorry, I owe you one!" She said with a smile, and then rushed towards the changing rooms.

"[Wait!]" Kenny called suddenly, which was unexpected even for him. He had no idea why he did so.

Wendy stopped in her tracks, turning back towards him with a confused expression. "What is it?"

"[I, uh...]" He felt a bit nervous, but his mind finally processed that there was something he needed to say. And that was his last chance of doing so. "[I... just wanted to thank you. For helping me out with the net, and for letting me stay here. I... really appreciate it.]"

For a brief moment, Wendy forgot about how late she was and was a bit stunned in surprise. "O-Oh, I see... You're welcome." She managed.

Kenny nodded, his parka hiding his smile. "[Sorry for keeping you. I'll see you tomorrow.]" He said, adjusting his hold on the items and turning back after she nodded.

Without waiting for a verbal answer, Kenny made his way towards the exit; the net and the bars still in his possession. As he walked through the court, his mind kept replaying the day's events. Thinking back, it was a real rollercoaster of emotions, but it wasn't half bad. Sure, he still had a long way to go before earning the girls's trust, and it would also take quite some time for him to get used to their animosity. But maybe, just maybe, he could pull it off.

And Wendy...

He knew for a fact that he wouldn't forget her actions or their little talk any time soon. In fact, this was the first time since meeting her that he saw her as something other than Stan's (ex)girlfriend, or as a reliable superhero ally by the name of Call Girl. He got to see for himself sides of her that he never noticed before, and it gave him a weird mix of intrigue and guilt. In the ned, he never asked what were her reason for helping him out, but he didn't really care anymore. All that mattered was that, for some reason, despite the almost guaranteed glares, gossiping and maybe even direct insults, he genuinely looked forward to the girls's training tomorrow. And of course, he couldn't wait to see what their charismatic captain would pull off next.

Smiling, he finally made his way out of the gym... unaware that the girl he had been thinking about had stayed behind, watching his receding back in silence until he disappeared behind those doors.

...

...

**_To be continued._**

* * *

**A/N: Well, this is it for the first chapter! How do you guys like it? Again, please don't forget to review and point out where I can improve. Believe me, I take grammar mistakes, OOCness and everything else very seriously! And naturally, compliments are more than welcome too!**

"Hi, I have level 10 autism and I have an issue with how you are sexualizing the children in your story! The way Kenny ogles the girls is sexist and you should be ashamed of yourself!" The annoying reader said, all the while writing an essay on tumblr as to why I am such a terrible person.

**Let me remind those with this kind of mindset that this is a story, and part of writing a story revolves around knowing and developing the personalities of the characters one is writing about. Our protagonist is a 10 year old boy who is known for being a pervert, so discrete, lecherous looks towards a classmate are to be expected for someone who is reaching puberty in an adult's show.**

**That being said, spare me the 'social justice warrior' agenda. If you feel uncomfortable with the way I depict the protagonist's perspective of the story, then just don't read it. I have better things to do than sexualizing a bunch of characters made of construction paper for no reason, even if the show itself portrays them as precocious. And seriously, it's a damn story. If these things bother you, then you shouldn't even be watching the show in the first place.**

**But anyway, if you are not a massive pussy, please review!**

**I'll see you on the next chapter! :)**


	4. Anger

Wendy was the kind of person that always had a lot on her mind.

Sure, that wasn't really unusual for a girl of her age. Like her friends, she too enjoyed shopping, gossiping, making lists, sleepovers and so on. But what made Wendy stand out from other girls wasn't her popularity, or her beauty, or anything of the sort, really. It was how mature, intelligent and well-informed the girl was; even more so than several adults from her town.

Being the captain of both the volleyball and cheerleading team, the class president and the current 'judge' of the girls's meeting 'court' while still managing to be a straight-As student and one of the most popular girls in her grade was no easy task. Just hearing about it, most people would even think it was something impossible to handle while somehow still retaining their sanity and an adequate amount of rest. But Wendy made that sound easy, managing her duties and hobbies like a professional businesswoman and somehow still finding time to have fun. Even equally popular girls within her age looked up to her for that, admiring the girl's political awareness and how far she was willing to go for her ideals, such as donating food to starving children in Nairobi and writing essays about endangered animals.

But despite her busy agenda, a certain subject had been popping up in Wendy's head recently, and as much as she saw it as an annoying inconvenience, she couldn't seem to take it out of her head.

Boys.

Now, it wasn't like she didn't think about them from time to time. After all, even though she and the other girls were still mad and not talking to them, for 10-years old girls to not talk about the opposite sex would mean the world was probably about to end. Being angry with someone didn't make them any less cute, unfortunately.

After her third and final break-up, Wendy figured she wouldn't be thinking about boys anytime soon. Being one of the few girls that did not want to end her long-term relationship for the sake of sending a message, she was left extremely hurt and disappointed with Stan's participation in the boys's 'Wieners Out' parade in the hallways; which took place literally in front of her and her friends. Her heart stung with embarrassment and a sad pain of betrayal every time she remembered the incident; her certainty that Stan of all people would not stoop so low shattered to pieces, and whatever feelings she still had for him began to decay. But then again, it's not like she could ignore all the time they spent together either. After all, she knew him better than anyone, and deep inside, a part of her probably still liked him.

But as if to make things worse between them, it didn't seem like Stan was making an effort to fix their relationship. He did try once, and even recieved advice from Bill Cosby and the 'Almost the First Gentleman' as he talked to her. However, the reconciliation was cut short when Butters showed up and flashed his wiener again. After that, Stan never talked to her again for some reason. After her fair share of sleepless nights racking her brain over why he wouldn't try again (since it really wouldn't take much for her to accept him back), she eventually concluded that his friends were more important than her. Sure, she could have approached him herself; after all, her feelings were still there. But she wanted to trust that Stan would keep fighting for her; to show her how much he cared. But he never did.

Which was why she never would have expected a boy other than Stan to pop in her head so frequently.

Speaking (or thinking) of the devil, Wendy noticed the orange blur from the corner of her eye as it made it's way to the same seat it'd been occupying for the past two days. Without a word he sat down, placing his worn out backpack next to him and calmly, yet masterfully, ignoring the glares - which soon turned into gossip - from the girls sitting on the bleachers next to his.

"Oh, look. Our number one fan is here again." A girl named Isla commented, her words dripping with sarcasm. Wendy unconsciously turned to get a better look at him. Naturally, she couldn't see his face given his eccentric way of dressing, but she'd recognize that orange parka from a mile away.

Wendy and some of the girls were currently finishing their usual calisthenics, while a few others were by the bleachers next to them. Waiting for the coach to arrive, they were talking as usual.

"Ugh, not again. Seriously, what's the deal with this boy? This is starting to get really creepy." Nelly grunted, scowling at him from the bleachers.

Nichole nodded. "Right?! I mean, if he really likes volleyball and wants to watch us, that's fine... But why come to our training sessions?!"

"I'd bet money that he's either planning something against us or is some kind of sick pervert. I don't trust him one bit." With a nasty frown on her face, Nelly eyed the only boy in the gym with disgust. He, on the other hand, didn't seem to notice or care.

Annie shrugged. "I don't really have a problem with him coming here." She said to no one in particular, looking uninterested.

"What?!" Nelly looked like she had seen a ghost. "Why?!"

Bebe grinned. "Duh. Isn't it obvious? She thinks he's hot. I mean, she even chased him and tried to kiss him in my Paris Hilton party."

Annie's eyes widened."Wait, what?! That's not why! And that was ages ago!"

"Wow, she didn't deny it." An amused Red noted.

Annie sighed, rolling his eyes. "Fine. Maybe I find him cute, alright? But that's not why I'm okay with him coming here."

"Oh really? Then why is it, then?" Bebe asked with a smirk, not even trying to hide that she would tease the girl for ages.

"He's not a bad person." Annie said as she stretched, ignoring Bebe's mischievous look. "Ungh... He even helped me out awhile ago. Remember when New Kid lived here? Well, they beat up a bunch of sixth graders that were messing with me. Those bitches almost broke my Justin Bieber doll." She noticed Nelly was still frowning. "Don't get me wrong, I'm also annoyed with the whole 'Wieners Out' thing. But what he did still meant a lot to me. Besides, don't you remember? He helped us out afterwards, too."

"Oh wait, I remember that. He was crossdressing, wasn't he?!" Bebe exclaimed.

"...Yes, but I'm pretty sure that's not the point here. And why are you getting excited anyway?" Annie raised an eyebrow.

"Well, that's kind of hot." Bebe pouted.

Lola rolled her eyes. "But Annie has a point. He did help the New Kid find out who was the two-faced bitch spreading false rumors about Allie Nelson being in the abortion clinic." She said, throwing Heidi an accusing glare.

"I already apologized!" Heidi said, exasperated.

"Also... I hate to say this, but... To be fair, I don't mind him coming here either. He always offers to help take down the net and put it away, and it's been really helpful. That's actually pretty cool of him." Red said.

Bebe nodded. "True. He even forgave me for dumping all the work on him when he first asked. I kinda like him."

Nelly frowned. "Oh for fuck sake. Are you guys high?! So what if he helped us? He and his friends only did so because they wanted us to play that stupid game with them, and that was a long time ago. This time is no different. He either wants something from us or is trying to lower our guards by playing the polite boy act. But that's not happening. And seriously, how can you find someone who never shows their face 'hot'?!"

Wendy sighed. _"Most girls are still suspicious of him, huh? Well, I guess I shouldn't be surprised... Hell, normally I would be on edge too. I don't really understand why I'm not... Nor do I understand why am I feeling glad that people are starting to accept him. Seriously, what's going on with me?" _She thought, throwing one curious glance at him.

Out of Stan's best friends, Kenny was undoubtely the one she knew the least about. She and Kyle used to get along well. Back when Mr. Garrison was still a teacher, and before the groups were switched around, they took care of an egg together and ended up learning that they had a lot in common, from sharing the title of the smartest kids in their class as well as their passion in being politically-correct voices of reason. She lost her respect for him, however, when he too joined in on the 'Wieners Out' parade, inciting the boys right in the middle of the cafeteria for everyone to see.

As for Cartman... One could say that he and Wendy were the living proof that opposites not always would attract. He was the kind of person that Wendy could never bring herself to respect, even if she actually made an effort to do so. Their very existences annoyed the hell out of each other, and unfortunately for Wendy, she had to see his face nearly every day. To make things worse, Cartman was someone that would always willingly go out of his way to start conflict with anyone. But it was like he made an extra effort to mess with Wendy. Be it by ridiculing and making fun of her for being a girl, or booing her presentations in front of everyone out of pure spite... Cartman wouldn't miss an opportunity to provoke her, not even after she gave him a good beating. Much to his annoyance, however, Wendy wasn't the type to take in his nonsensical abuse without any kind of rebuttal. And as petty as it might sound, it was rather pleasant for her to put him in his place from time to time. So, in a way, it was fair to say that she knew him all too well.

But Kenny was a complete mystery to her. Other than the first day he decided to watch their volleyball practice, she couldn't remember a single time where she spoke with him one on one. Naturally, one conversation that lasted no more than a few minutes was far from being enough for two people to know each other. She still had no idea what kind of person he was since he was usually very quiet; easily disappearing behind his friends's antics and never causing trouble of his own. His alter egos weren't any less confusing either. One moment he is a cute japanese princess with charisma and a natural skill to 'rule' 'her people', and in another he was the embodiment of an anti-hero. Calm, calculating, anti-social, dark, jaded and, most of all, mysterious.

_"...Which one is the real you? Princess Kenny? Mysterion? Both? Neither?" _Wendy pondered as she looked at him.

He apparently chose that exact moment to peer at her as well; their eyes meeting and their gazes connecting. The few seconds they spent with eyes locked felt like hours; both unable to break that eye contact for some reason. Most of his face was hidden thanks to his peculiar way of dressing, but that only made his gaze more intense. Wendy wasn't sure why she was so drawn by his eyes, specially when he was so far from her. But she kept reciprocrating his stare, unconsciously trying to solve the mystery behind his eyes.

That is, until he suddenly waved at her.

Wendy broke out of her trance immediately. Realizing what she'd been doing and what he just did, she suddenly felt embarrassed and averted her gaze brusquely, fighting against a blush. Pretending she didn't see a thing, she knelt down and started doing push-ups; not daring to look up at him to see how he'd react.

_"...What the hell was that? ...More importantly, why the hell did I react like that? All he did was wave at me. Why did I get so flustered? It's not like he was flirting with me or anything... Right?" _

"What do you think, Wendy?" Someone suddenly asked her, and she nearly jumped.

"W-What?" A clueless Wendy replied, trying not to sound agitated and failing miserably.

Jenny tilted her head. "Hey, your face is kind of red. Are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just uh, went too hard on these push-ups." She wiped the sweat on her forehead, satisfied that the girls seemingly missed what just happened and also bought her story. "Sorry, I wasn't paying attention. What were you talking about?" She asked as she reached for her water bottle.

"Well, remember when Kyle came here a while ago and was head over heels for Heidi?" Red asked.

Heidi rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on... Not this again..."

Red ignored her. "...Well, we think that maybe Kenny is coming here every day because he likes someone."

Almost immediately remembering how he waved at her, Wendy nearly choked on her water. "W-What?"

No one seemed to notice Wendy's predicament. Red continued. "I mean, it makes sense, right? Maybe he's the shy type and is gathering courage to confess by watching us play."

"Who do you think it could be?" Nichole asked.

"If it's looks he's after, then it's probably me." Lisa Berger said, which made Wendy roll her eyes. It was amazing how a simple photoshop could make someone forget that they look like a fucking Hobbit.

"Maybe it's Heidi. They were all lovey dovey a few days ago!" Lola pointed out, and most of the girls started giggling.

Heidi blushed. "Shut up! It wasn't like that, ok? He was just being nice."

"Alright girls, let's forget about Kenny for now." Wendy said, trying to end the subject. Something about this new train of thought bothered her. "Our focus should be somewhere else, remember? We have a big game coming soon."

"That's exactly why we **can't **ignore him, Wendy! What if I'm right and he's here to cause trouble?" Nelly argued, visibly altered.

"I get what you're saying Nelly, but calm down. Being paranoid won't get us anywhere either. He hasn't caused any kind of trouble as of yet, so pointing fingers at him isn't fair."

"Oh, ok. So we're going to wait until he actually causes trouble to do something about him?"

Wendy sighed in annoyance. "Look. I swear on my position of team captain that the moment he causes trouble, I will kick him out of here myself. But until then, we have no reason to treat him like an animal. He hasn't done anything."

Nelly shook her head in disbelief. "Fine! Suit yourselves. You want to keep defending him, go ahead. But when he does something bad, don't say I didn't warn you!" With that, Nelly stalked off and left the gym, slamming the doors behind her. Even Kenny himself couldn't help but be confused.

Wendy blinked several times. "Geez. What's her problem? She isn't even part of the team..."

"Beats me." Nichole shrugged. "Maybe she has something against him. Like, personally."

"Like what?" Red asked.

"Maybe they were lovers and he cheated on her?!" Bebe asked excitedly, a mischievous gleam in her eyes.

Esther laughed. "Maybe he leaked her nudes on some group chat!"

Just then, the coach arrived. "Alright girls, enough chatting. Let's start the practice!" She said, blowing the whistle loudly.

_"Right... There's no time to think about this. I'll talk to Nelly later, but I doubt it'll make much of a difference. I just hope she can get rid of that prejudice..." _Wendy thought, throwing a glance at the source of this drama and wondering why-

_"Wait... Where did he go?" _She thought, noticing the orange parka was gone.

"Wendy! Are you with us?" The coach called, snapping her fingers.

"Sorry!" Wendy shook her head to refocus.

"Hm. Well, let's begin."

Nodding, Wendy threw one last look at the spot Kenny was a minute ago, unconsciously wondering where he went. She was aware that he could have simply gone to the bathroom, but somehow, she felt like she wouldn't be able to simply ignore his absence...

* * *

...

The hallways were mostly empty, save for a few students that still had business in the school. It wasn't unusual for students to forget something in their lockers and come back, or for people to stay behind and watch the clubs practice, or even for people to stay at school for detention.

Nelly made her way to her locker with heavy steps. Her facial expression was anything but friendly; mumbling angrily to herself and occasionally punching a random locker. Students (and even teachers) who crossed her path were intimidated with her aura alone, staying out of her way so as to avoid having that steel-melting scowl directed at them.

"Stupid bitches... Standing up for that stupid fucking boy! What are they thinking! It's so OBVIOUS that he's up to something!" Nelly muttered angrily as she shoved her books inside her locker without any delicacy. "'Oh no, but he hasn't done anything, it's alright!' 'It's alright'?! You moron, just wait until that list-thief pulls down his damn pants in the middle of the most important game of your lives!" She raised her voice in annoyance as she slammed the locker door closed.

"[So that's what this is about?]"

"AAGH!"A sudden voice startled Nelly, who instinctively threw the book she was holding at it. Luckily (for her target), they were able to dodge the 364-pages Math book before it hit their head and crushed their fucking cranium.

As the book fell to the ground with a loud thud, Kenny stared at it with his eyes widened for a few moments before turning to his attacker. "[The fuck?!]"

Nelly was flabbergasted. "'The fuck'? I should be the one saying that! What the hell are you doing here? And wait- were you just eavesdropping on me, you jerk?!"

"[Eavesdropping?! Everyone in the damn corridor could hear you, you know.]"

"Fuck you!" She snarled before picking her book from the ground and not even bothering to put it inside her backpack before walking away.

Kenny followed her. "[Hey, wait!]"

Nelly turned around, impatient. "What do you want?!"

"[To talk with you.]" He said calmly, hands in his pockets.

Nelly scoffed. "Hah. Well, I don't have anything to talk to you. Now leave me alone!"

"[Like hell I will.]" Kenny frowned. "[I can see from a mile away that you have some problem with me. You're doing a terrible job hiding it.]"

"Oh, trust me, I wasn't trying to hide it."

"[So you admit that you have something against me.]" He said. She couldn't see it, but she knew he was smirking.

Nelly gritted her teeth. "Yeah? So what if I do?"

Kenny sighed, shaking his head. "[Look. I'm sorry, alright?]"

"...What?"

"[For the Weiners Out thing. You girls never got an apology, right? I can't speak for all the boys, but I'm sorry anyway. I know you're upset- and you have every right to, but this has gone on for far too long, don't you think? I just want to get along with everyone, and that includes you.]"

"You want to 'get along' with me? Hah! Try again, boy. You think some half-hassed apology will make everything go away, and everyone will be buddy-buddy again? Well, it won't! You degenerates weren't satisfied with trolling us online, so you decided to show us your fucking dicks! And you think apologizing will fix everything?!"

"[Of course not. But it's a start, isn't it? Besides, it's the least I can do. We all owe you girls that much.]"

Nelly sighed in frustration. "What do you want from me?"

"[Have lunch with me tomorrow.]"

...

...

"WHAT?!" Nelly was visibly shocked, nearly dropping her books. "Where the hell did this come from?! Are you retarded?!"

Kenny eyed her curiously. "[Don't misunderstand. I just want to talk!]

"Aren't we talking right now?! Why do you want to talk over lunch?!" She asked, taking a few steps back and wondering where the hell did her composure go.

Kenny on the other hand seemed pretty calm. "[You won't listen to what I'm saying or accept my apology because you're convinced that I- no. That boys are trash. So I want to talk to you and show you that we aren't as bad as you think; to show you that I mean no harm by watching your friends practice.]" He approached her. "[But I don't want to do it while you're pissed off.]"

Nelly seemed to be at a loss. "...I don't believe you. Why do you even care about what I think?"

Kenny scratched the back of his head. "[No big reason, really... I just think you're cool.]"

Nelly's jaw dropped.

"[...Anyway, how about tomorrow at that table in the corner that no one uses?]"

"How about you jump off the highest cliff you can find?!" Nelly snapped. "Don't go making plans on your own! And really, 'I'm cool'?! You don't know two shits about me, so don't act like you do!"

Kenny raised his two hands in an amicable gesture. "[Dude, can you calm down? I don't need to be your friend or know everything about you to find you cool, do I?" He asked. She said nothing, but her frown gave Kenny the answer he expected. She was as easy to read as she was to annoy, apparently. "[Besides. I wasn't lying. I mean, that time you beat up Butters in the hallways? I felt bad for him, but holy shit. That was pretty cool. I mean it.]"

Kenny waited for a response, but she remained silent, glaring at him like a cornered animal. Her features seemed calmer, but Kenny knew that she was still on edge. One wrong push and they'd be back to square one. With the patience and collectedness of someone about to defuse a bomb, Kenny treaded carefully.

"[...Look. Neither boys or girls have anything to gain from avoiding each other; and specially not from conspiring against one another. We are still kids, and we should be having fun together, not hating each other's guts. You don't have to like me or be my friend if you don't want to. I just want us to forget about what happened and carry on; that's why I want to sit down and just... talk. It doesn't have to be today or tomorrow. Whenever you're ready, you can come find me in that table. But if you really want to hang on to that anger, then at least hate me for who I am as a person, not for being a boy. Because seriously, that's gay.]"

Still no response from her. Well, it was better than being yelled at, at least.

Kenny sighed. "[...Fine. I give up. I'll leave you alone.]" He said and turned on his back, a bit annoyed and disappointed at the same time.

"...Wait."

"[Hm?]" Kenny turned back. Nelly was still frowning, but her eyes were fixed at the floor. Kenny wasn't sure, but it felt like she suddenly couldn't maintain eye contact with him for longer than a second; angrily averting her gaze back to the ground whenever their eyes met. She was still silent, but her expression suggested that she was at least giving his words some thought. The very fact that she hadn't left yet meant something by itself.

"Fine. You convinced me. We can talk over lunch." She sighed with the same intensity as someone who just lost all of their belongings in a casino. "But you better not get any funny ideas!"

Kenny raised his hands again to show his lack of hostility and ill-intent. "[I would never.]"

Nelly rubbed her temple, sighing again. "I hope I don't regret this..." She muttered to herself before turning on her heels and leaving, not giving Kenny so much as a good-bye look.

He, on the other hand, smiled. "[See you tomorrow!]" He called, fully aware that she wouldn't answer. Satisfied, he turned back himself, walking the opposite way from Nelly and back towards the gym.

...

_"...What in the goddamn fuck did I just get myself into." _He thought, only now considering the possibility of having his balls kicked with considerable force.

* * *

...

"...Dude. What the **hell** is he doing?"

"Kyle..." Stan sighed.

"No Stan, seriously. What the hell?"

"It's not a big deal..."

Kyle gave Clyde an annoyed look. "Don't you remember how that thing destroyed Butters's ass some time ago? Why would anyone go anywhere near it?!" He looked at Butters for validation.

"Yeah... That thing is no joke, guys. It really did a number on my ass... I don't even like to remember it." He said, remembering how he had to skip school the next day because of it.

"I don't get it." Kyle shook his head in disbelief. "I honestly don't get it."

"Dude, relax. You're blowing this out of proportion."

"Am I, Stan? Come on! Who in their right mind would take _that_ for lunch?! There are so many different options!" He exhaled loudly, visibly frustrated. "There's no other explanation: He has a death wish."

"Geez, Kyle, you really need to get that sand out of your vagina." Cartman rolled his eyes and kept eating his lunch.

Kyle moved in to punch Cartman, but Stan stopped him. "Stop! He has a point dude... You make it sound like he's going out with 'Nelly the Hun' or something. It's just chipotle, dude. Get over it, it's been months already." Stan tried to stay calm.

Kyle frowned. "Stan, for fuck's sake. Just look at this fatass." He pointed at Cartman, who kept eating his chipotle. "This fat fuck is fully aware of the fact that he is going to shit blood in the next few hours if he eats that. And that's exactly what he's doing! There's seriously something wrong with you guys if you see no problem with this!" He said, exasperated.

"Look, we get your point." Token started, pausing momentarily to get a sip of his soda. "But to be fair, that thing is delicious."

"Enough for you to shit blood and be okay with it?" Kyle questioned.

Cartman shrugged. "You bet your ginger ass that it is." Cartman finished up and wiped his mouth. "You see Kyle, the reason you don't get it is because you're a jew."

"What does that have to do with anything?!"

"We're talking about two god-sent gifts here, Kyle. Chipotle, and Chipotlaway." He showed off his burrito like it was an expensive jewel. "We were blessed with this kick-ass spicy sauce that was made by God himself, and then he sent Billy Mays, his clone, to give us the solution for Chipotle's only downside. Now my mother doesn't have to worry about my bloody underwear, Kyle. She has Chipotlaway. But you don't, because you're a non-believer and too weak to handle the power of Chipotle."

Kyle said nothing for several seconds, glaring at Cartman with a 'are-you-fucking-kidding-me-n-word' look. "Dude. You. Literally. Shit. Blood. Have you never considered the possibility of, I don't know, losing too much blood at once and passing out in the damn toilet from a lack of oxygen in your brain? Hitting your head in the damn sink and dying the stupidest death possible?"

"I've got six words for you, Kyle." He extended his arms, presenting his closed hands to Kyle. "It. Would. Be. Worth. It." He said, raising a finger everytime he spoke. He soon realized one word was missing when Kyle gave him a 'are-you-really-that-retarded' look. "Jew."

Kyle rolled his eyes and sighed. Before this could go any longer, Stan took the brief silence as an opportunity to change the subject. "More importantly, what is Kenny doing?" He said, pointing at the boy sitting alone in one of the tables."

"Beats me. I thought that was weird, too." Kyle said, turning to look at his friend, as did all the other boys in the table.

Butters tilted his head. "Yeah. I asked him where he was going earlier when he moved past our table, but all he said was that he wasn't going to have lunch with us today."

"Why, though?" Craig asked. Butters shrugged.

"He's not even eating... What is he doing there?" Token pondered.

None of the boys had an answer, and therefore could do nothing but watch in confusion.

...

Meanwhile, Kenny anxiously tapped his finger on the table, oblivious to his friend's stares; as well as those of several other kids in the cafeteria who were wondering what his deal was.

Although he sounded pretty confident (and even kinda cool) when he invited Nelly for lunch, now that he had an entire day to think about it, he realized that he had no idea what the fuck was he thinking when he did so.

Sure, he had a plan when he invited her out, which was to try and somehow show Nelly that he (and therefore boys in general) were not garbage, like she believed. But naturally, there were several problems with that plan; several of which Nelly herself pointed out and he was too taken in by the heat of the moment to realize.

First: Why talk over lunch? They were talking back then, and she was actually listening to him. Sure, she was angry and a little suspicious of him, but he had her attention somehow. And he pretty much wasted it by not only postponing their conversation, but also by realizing that he had no idea what to say when she arrived, which should be in a few minutes. How was he supposed to make her think well of him when he was almost guaranteed to make a fool of himself?

Second: Ever since the day she beat up Butters for kicking her in the crotch, and the day she threatened to beat him up again for repeadpulling his pants down, the boys jokingly started calling her 'Nelly the Hun' (unknown to her, of course) because of her unusual strength and anger, which was cool but also somewhat manly. He knew for a fact that he would be teased for being seen with her; though that would mostly come from Cartman. But that's not what bothered him...

Third: How the fuck did he manage to invite a girl to have lunch *alone with him* and not for one second see that as some kind of date?

_"It's no wonder she was so flustered. Seriously, what was I thinking? ...Clearly I wasn't thinking at all." _He sighed. The last thing he wanted was for weird rumors about him to start, specially ones involving him dating the Hulk. What truly made him disappointed and annoyed with himself was how he didn't think for a moment about how that would make her feel. He just selfishly pressured her into accepting, and that made him feel like a dick. He didn't want to be a dick!

He had to fix this. He had to find her, apologize, and reschedule their conversation to-

"Hey."

Fuck.

Hope was lost when he heard a female voice next to him, which brought him back from his thoughts and took his attention back to the real world.

Unexpectedly though, it was a different girl that was standing before him, and somehow, that made the situation a hundred times more confusing and scary.

"[W-Wendy? Oh, hey...]" He said, feeling lost as he watched her with astonishment and uncertainty, but Wendy didn't seem to notice - or at least didn't show any indication of doing so. She was holding a tray filled with food, and was most likely on her way to her usual table, where her friends were.

"Aren't you going to eat?" She asked, noticing his untouched tray lying in front of him, ignored. "Your food is going to get cold."

Kenny blinked, suddenly remembering that he indeed had food waiting for him; which led his stomach to remind him that he was famished. "[Ah, uh... I will. I'm just waiting for someone.]"

"Nelly, right?" She suddenly asked, and at that exact moment Kenny realized that something was up.

"[...That's right. How did you know?]"

"She told me." Wendy said as he picked a french fry from her own tray and bit it. "Also... She asked me to tell you that she's not coming today."

Kenny said nothing for a few seconds; his brain processing her words for what seemed like an eternity. He wasn't sure whether he should feel angry, disappointed or relieved, so he settled for a mix of all three. It was frustrating to be informed of such a change of plans this way, but it also gave him a weird, sad feeling of rejection. Actually, had he looked around the cafeteria he would have realized Nelly wasn't coming, given how she was sitting as far away from his table as possible and was happily engaged in conversation with other girls. So on top of it all, he also felt incredibly stupid.

"[...Oh.]" Was all he managed to say. His gaze fell to his plate, and now he regretted not eating his lunch before. At the same time, however, he figured he had escaped from what would most certainly have been an awkward situation, so he had that going for him, at least. Besides, he did tell her that they didn't have to talk today. Might as well be patient and hope she's willing to do it next week.

She noticed his disappointment and felt sympathetic. "Don't worry, she'll come around. She just needs some time."

"[I see... Thanks.]" He nodded.

She gave him a brief smile before turning away. "Well, bye. And good luck."

Wendy was already on her way to meet her friends when he called her. "[Wait.]" She turned back, confused. "[Uh... Well, since you're already here, do you want to have lunch with me?]"

As soon as the words left his mouth and visible confusion became evident in Wendy's features, Kenny seriously wondered what in the hell was wrong with him. It wasn't like him to be so impulsive and/or straight-forward. Not even when he wanted a blowjob from his former girlfriend was he this bold; to the point of not giving things a second thought. Hell, back then he had carefully taken his time to consider if oral sex was worth going to a Jonas Brothers show and wearing purity rings. But for some reason, seeing Wendy walking away triggered something within him that made him act irrationally. Even more than her, he was genuinely confused. He had no idea about what was causing him to do this stuff. Was it the pressure of talking to the most popular (hot) girl from their grade, who he recently started noticing? Maybe the curiosity of learning more about his friend's former muse? Was it because he admired her as a brilliant volleyball player and subconsciously wanted to be her acquaintance? Or was it... something else?

Wendy blinked. "...What?"

Now was too late to take it back. "[Uh... Well... Would you uh, like to have lunch together and chat for a bit?]" He scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

Wendy said nothing for several seconds; assaulted by a sudden wave of confusion as she pondered about his humble invitation. Part of her wanted to decline and enjoy lunch with her friends as usual, but another - and somehow stronger - part of her was compelled to accept. If there is one thing she learned about him is that the boy was apparently a master at doing things no one would expect, and therefore in catching her off guard. Not even Stan had ever spent his lunch time with her, or tried to, which made Kenny's request even more flattering and intriguing. She had seen more of him in these past few days than the entirety of the time they've known each other, and yet, she felt like she still knew nothing about him. And if by any chance she told someone that she did not want to learn more, she would be lying.

After careful consideration, Wendy made her choice. "Sure, why not?" She shrugged and placed her tray right next to his, sitting across from him.

_"Wait, seriously?" _Kenny froze; his heart racing as he watched her make herself comfortable in the table; quietly starting on her lunch. While he may have invited her (twice), he believed it was far more likely for her to decline than for her to even consider his offer- specially since she, too, was still upset with the whole Wieners Out thing. And yet, against all odds, there she was.

Having no idea what to say, Kenny decided to buy time by having a few sips of his orange juice. His mind raced as it considered possible ways to, without making a complete fool of himself, break the ice in a casual way and start an actual conversat-

"Hey, are you hitting on me?"

It took all of Kenny's willpower to not accidently spit all of his juice in her face, or to not pathetically choke on the orange liquid and die the most stupid death possible. With all the calm he could muster, he focused on slowly swallowing his drink with the same level of concentration as someone defusing a bomb. Once he was done, he couldn't help but laugh to himself at how ridiculous that whole situation was. His misfortune was downright comical sometimes, and ironically, being aware of it helped him ease his mind a little despite the weight of her question. Lucky him!

"[Ha, no, I'm not trying to hit on you. I guess it's not hard to assume I'm a sleazy guy for inviting so many girls for lunch, but really, I'm not. Besides, 'would you like to have lunch'? What kinda old-school pick-up line is that?]"

Wendy seemed thoughful. "Hm... But maybe it's so old-school that it's looped around and become cool again."

Kenny laughed. "[Haha, yeah, maybe.]" He decided to finally give his food some attention, picking some french fries with his fork and promptly devouring them. Feeling a bit relaxed, he faced her again. "[Although, it is true that I wanted to spend some time with you.]"

He got her attention. "Why is that?"

"[No big reason. Just wanted to talk about the game.]" He resumed eating. "[Nervous?]"

Wendy sighed. "Yeah, that's one way to put it. Especially since today is the last time we get to practice. And we have tests to worry about, too..." She sighed again, sounding and looking pretty tired.

Kenny looked at her with concern. "[Don't worry, you've been working hard. It'll be fine.]" She looked at him. "[I think you've earned a little break.]"

"I wish I could. But someone has to keep those girls on the line." She smiled. "I appreciate the concern, though."

Kenny nodded. "[Don't mention it.]" He turned back to his food, missing the meaningful look Wengy gave him.  
_  
"__This boy really is quite the sweet-talker, isn't he?" _She thought, watching him eat up his lunch with newfound respect._ "__I don't think Stan ever cared about whether I was struggling with my duties or not... __I don't want to think about him, but it's hard not to compare those two."_

"I was surprised when Nelly told me you asked her out for lunch, but I can see now how you managed to convince her." Wendy confessed.

"[Is that so? Well, I have to admit it wasn't easy. I half expected her to beat me up at one point.]" He told her. Even now he was hesitant to approach Nelly in fear of having his testicles destroyed.

"Believe me, convincing Nelly to do something is quite the feat, specially when she's pissed. Even we have trouble talking to her when she has her mind set on something. She's so thick-headed that we call her 'Nelly the Hun'." Kenny was both surprised and somehow not surpised at all with the revelation. "But needless to say, don't tell her that. She'd eat you alive."

Kenny gulped. "[...I think I'll take your advice to heart.]" He said, and they both shared a laugh together. The had to admit to themselves that it was rather pleasant.

"So." Wendy started. Her lunch already finished, she pushed her tray to the side and rested her elbows on the table. "How were you going to convince her not to hate you?"

"[Ah...]" Kenny rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "[To be honest, I have no idea...]"

"What?" Wendy seemed surprised. "You didn't make any plans?"

Kenny blushed, but thankfully his eccentric way of dressing hid that from the girl watching him. "[Well... I tried to, but I couldn't really think of anything. I figured letting things happen naturally wouldn't be a bad idea.]"

Wendy raised an eyebrow. "Well, there's nothing wrong with it. But since you went out of your way to ask her out for lunch, it's only natural for her to expect something from it. That's why you should at least think of some subjects to talk about beforehand. I mean, what would you do if no good subject was brought up, she got bored to death and left?"

"[Uh... Um...]" Kenny racked his brain for an answer, but for some reason, all it was capable of producing at that time were fart sounds. His clueleness was evident, and the longer he thought, the more Wendy's disappointment grew.

"...You boys are such dorks." She rolled her eyes, following with a sigh. "You're lucky she wasn't ready to talk to you today."

"[Well... No faults there...]" Kenny looked down, realizing he couldn't refute.

She sighed again, shaking her head. "...Oh well. At least we have plenty of time to think it through." Wendy said, drinking from her small box of milk.

Kenny blinked, confused. "[Huh...? 'We'?]"

Wendy nodded. "I'll help you prepare for when you talk to her." She crushed her milk box when it was empty, placing it on her tray along with the empty plate. "The last thing you want is to sound like an airhead after saying all those things to her. You may not get a second chance." She explained.

Kenny nodded in acknowledgment. "[I guess you're right... Thanks Wendy, that would be great!]" He smiled, but realized she wouldn't be able to see it. "[But... Why would you help me? I thought you were, you know... Angry at boys, too.]" He asked.

Wendy had to think about it before answering. "I am. But I respect you for trying to fix that. Even if you weren't directly related to the trolling incident - or so I hope - you were really mature to apologize and try to fix things. It's good to know that at least one of you boys have the balls to do so."

Kenny said nothing for a moment, not failing to notice how Wendy's last sentence had feelings attached to it. She probably wasn't aware of them herself, but they were evident in her eyes. Anger... and sadness.

_"Stan, huh?"_ He concluded, feeling sympathetic for her and somewhat angry at his friend.

"[Then... I'd like to personally apologize to you.]" He told her, and seeing the resentment in her eyes being replaced with confusion further boosted his resolve. They locked eyes. "[I can't speak for all the boys, nor do I know who did all that stuff online. But for all it's worth... I'm really sorry for the trouble we caused and for upsetting you.]"

He extended a hand towards her. His eyes were sincere, and he hoped that the gesture would help emphasize that. She broke eye contact to look at his hand; genuinely touched by his symbolic apology. She looked back at him. His eyes were waiting for hers. They were... Welcoming. Gentle. Reassuring. Warm.

They locked again.

She brought her own hand to his, firmly grasping it and showing him a smile that she had long forgotten how to make.

"...Apology accepted."

...

...

_**To be continued.  
**_

* * *

**A/N: I'm sorry for the delay, everyone. I hope you enjoyed this fresh chapter! I went as far as writing parts of it during my work breaks, so don't forget to review and let me know my efforts were appreciated!**

**Please let me know if any of the characters feel OOC, especially Kenny. It's hard to portray quiet characters, and sometimes I worry if I'm not making him out as too talkative or more friendly than he actually is.**

**If there are any Nelly fans out there, you might feel like I'm antagonizing her in my story. As it turns out, I actually am, and I have good reasons to do so.**

**Female fourth graders are criminally underused in South Park. Other than Wendy, Bebe (somewhat) and Heidi (S20-S21), the other girls barely had any screentime in the show, or at least not enough to show defining, unique features of their own. In fact, TSoT makes fun of that fact by portraying all the girls as frivolous, two-faced hypocrites. They barely have any speaking roles even in episodes that revolve around them, like The Hobbit, for example. I really wish they had more active roles and interacted more with the main cast. Hell, until the mass break-up we had no idea that these kids were in relationships, or even that they were even friends at all. On that note, I again apologize if they feel OCC, because as it turns out, they barely have a character that I can base myself off.**

**One exception to that is Nelly, who actually managed to have defining features despite her few appearances. I see her as a Shelly wannabe: Angry, strong, and won't hesitate to beat the crap out of whoever pisses her off. For that reason, I feel like she's perfect for conflicting with our protagonist, and I see befriending her as a necessary step for him to achieve his relationship goals with other girls (specially with you-know-who).**

**EDIT: Just to clarify, the part where Annie is being bullied by sixth graders isn't made up. It takes place in the game 'South Park: The Stick of Truth'. HOWEVER, this scene in particular and subsequent ones/other girl quests do not necessarily happen with Kenny being there. It is perfectly possible to complete the girl quests with someone other than Kenny helping you out, but nothing really changes either way. For the sake of this story, however, we're considering that Princess Kenny helped complete all of the girl quests. **

**That's all for the chapter and the author notes. Again, I hope you enjoyed, and please don't forget to review.**

**See you in the next chapter! :) **


	5. Apology

"...And guess how the episode ends?! Jaime Lannister goes straight to Winterfell! But that's not all, dude! It doesn't fucking end there! Guess who he runs into as soon as he arrives?!"

"TIMMY!"

Cartman frowned. "Shut up Timmy, get lost!"

Wendy sighed in annoyance. Glaring at the nuisance in front of her, she couldn't help but wish with all her strength for him to spontaneously blow up into a million pieces. It was amazing how he managed to get on her nerves even when when his teasing wasn't aimed at her. It seemed like their mutual dislike for one another had raised to the level where sharing oxygen with him was enough to instantly worsen her mood.

It was probably naive of Wendy to think she would be able to celebrate her well-deserved victory in the volleyball match without Cartman ruining her mood as usual. Right when she finally had some time to relax and take volleyball away from her mind for a while, she had to deal with Cartman first thing in the morning. Adding that to the many sleepless nights worrying about the match, one could say Wendy wasn't in the greatest of moods today.

Keeping his promise, Kenny was there cheering for her team on their match, which was honestly surprising. It wasn't just for the fact that their games usually had little to no audience; especially not boys. But rather because long before the whole 'gender war' started - which was months ago - the boys were already overly excited for the new Game of Thrones season, and Kenny was no exception. It wasn't unusual to overhear them discussing about the show in the hallways, making speculations and even plans for their own fantasy game - something about a powerful stick? Wendy wasn't sure.

What she did know for sure, however, was the fact that he being there meant that he gave up on watching the show he had been waiting for months, just to favor her volleyball game instead. If Wendy had any doubt that Kenny was serious about liking the sport and wanting to support the girls, that doubt vanished the moment she spotted him in the nearly empty bleachers; sitting on his usual spot and wearing his trademark orange parka, but with a "Go Cows!" shirt on top of it. He even had a small flag with the South Park Cows logo with him. Naturally, several girls were still on edge about his presence; expecting him to cause trouble somehow like Nelly had suggested before. But as time went on and all he did was cheer for his classmates, the girls eventually relaxed and somewhat lowered their guards around him. Many still didn't trust him, but at least they were getting comfortable enough with his presence not to glare at him. Even the gossiping took a turn for better, with a few girls admiring his attitude and even finding it cute. Suffice it to say, even if he wasn't aware of it, he was starting to be seen without prejudice, which made Wendy oddly happy for him.

It was only natural for her to want to express her sincere gratitude and her appreciation for her spectator, feeling even more motivated to help him sort his differences with Nelly like she promised. She was fully prepared to thank him for his support and give him all the advice she could, until...

Cartman.

Kenny had barely entered the classroom that day when Cartman rushed towards him and started giving spoilers about literally the entire Game of Thrones episode that came out. Several people - including herself - who had missed the episode and wanted to check it out when they got home had the surprise ruined. Cartman not only loudly gave away the entire plot, but also cruelly mocked Kenny for missing the 'epic sleepover' at his house, where he and several boys gathered to watch the episode together. To add insult to injury, he made sure to not only mock Kenny for being poor, but also for having attended the girls's volleyball match instead, not sparing any efforts to let everyone know his opinion of girls playing sports. Exactly what Wendy wanted to hear after putting her blood and soul into it.

It didn't end there. Even after the bell rang and classes started, Cartman would whisper things like 'how was the volleyball match, Kenny?' or 'dude you totally missed out on Game of Thrones' in the middle of the lecture. When the teacher called him out for it, Cartman resorted to sending written messages, but naturally, Kenny didn't even bother to open them.

The kids were allowed a short recess in the playground before the next classes began, and both Kenny and Wendy had previously agreed to meet up during that time to prepare for when Nelly felt like talking. However, given how the day had played out so far, it wasn't hard to predict what would happen once the bell rang. As expected, Cartman showed up out of nowhere, glued to Kenny's side and kept telling the new episode's plot in great detail, going as far as following the boy inside the bathroom to do so.

As a result, Wendy wasn't surprised - but not any less annoyed - when Cartman followed her and Kenny to their meeting spot and continued his one-sided abuse.

"...Oh yeah, and guess what, dude? Euron totally bangs the queen, hahaha! That guy got balls, I gotta give you that."

Wendy's patience was wearing thin. She wanted to badly to knock a few teeth out of his mouth, but she'd rather avoid getting in trouble for beating him up again. "Goddamn it Cartman, will you leave us alone? You already spoiled the entire episode, what else do you want?" She said with a nasty look on her face.

Cartman played innocent "Geez Wendy, what's up your butt? It's not like Kenny can't go home and watch the episode himself... -Oh wait, he can't! Hahahaha!" At this point Wendy's face was red with anger, but Kenny was surprisingly calm. "I told you to not be poor, Kenny, but did you listen to me? No. Now you have no cable TV to watch the episode rerun on HBO. Sucks to be you, dude."

"[At least I'm not fat.]" Kenny shrugged.

Cartman's mood immediately changed, much to Wendy's amusement. "I'm already told you I'm not fat, I'm big-boned!" He growled, and Wendy had to hold a laugh. "I bet you're just pissed because you can't watch the episode! Not that it will matter anyway, since I already told you everything that is going to happen!"

"[Nah, I'll still watch it. I haven't really been listening to what you've been saying.]" He said, looking unperturbed.

Wendy knew he was lying, and that he not only had his fun spoiled, but was also as annoyed at Cartman as her - if not more. Still, it was impressive to see how good he was at handling Cartman. There was literally nothing more hilarious than turning his own games against him.

"Oh yeah?! And how are you going to watch it, huh, Kenny? Everyone will come to my house to watch it again, and you're not invited. How, then? On YouTube? Are you going to watch a 6-part video someone recorded on their phone?" Cartman mocked, but it lacked his confidence from before.

That's when Wendy had an idea. "Actually, he's coming to my house to watch it on Full HD." She stated.

Both Cartman and Kenny's jaws dropped. Sure, Kenny knew that she was lying and that she most likely just said that to ruin Cartman's fun - and hell, was his reaction priceless. But it still set his heart racing to hear her state something like that so boldly. He, going to her house with her to watch TV? He couldn't avoid some dirty thoughts that passed through his head...

Wendy on the other hand smirked internally, satisfied at not only rendering Cartman speechless , but also for leaving him no more room for teasing.

Or so she thought, as a few seconds later he erupted into a sickening laughter; even more intense than when Dr. David Nelson gave a speech in their school. She and Kenny looked at each other with uncertainty as Cartman kept laughing, eventually walking away in tears of pure joy. Neither of them said anything until Cartman was out of view.

"...I just made things a hundred times worse, didn't I." She said, but it sounded more like an affirmation than a question.

Kenny shook his head. "[Well, he's gone. That's good enough for me.]"

She sighed. "We both know Cartman will use this to attack us. I mean, it's really not hard to get the wrong idea from what I said. He'll probably spread rumors around." She rubbed her temple, feeling annoyed already. "...Sorry, I shouldn't have said that."

"[Really, it's fine. I wouldn't worry about rumors started by Cartman. Everyone hates him.]"

"...All it takes is for one idiot to believe him. Remember the whole issue with me 'killing smurfs'?"

"[...I do, unfortunately.]" Kenny shook his head as if to shake away the memory. The short time during which Cartman was responsible for the morning announcements, after which he was pushed into being president of the student council, was absolute hell. Thankfully, Wendy regained her position of president later on and the new morning announcer was not a complete retard, so things slowly went back to normal.

"Well, Butters literally went to my house and peed on my door." She stated.

Kenny blinked. Somehow imagining the scene was pretty funny, but he forced himself not to laugh, by pretending to cough. "[...Ahem... T-That's news for me. Still, don't worry. I know for a fact that my friends would take my word over Cartman's any day, and guess it's the same for your friends.]"

"...True. But still..." She sighed. "Why are you even friends with him?"

"[We're not. He just follows us around.]"

Wendy smiled a little. "I can see that happening. Still, why did he do all those things to you today? All that teasing was excessive, even for him." She asked.

"[Well... Let's just say I really pissed him off. He tried to cheat on a game, but I saw right through it and kind of ruined his plans.]" He explained. The lack of details was disappointing, but Wendy didn't press for them. "[He knew I wasn't going to watch Game of Thrones to watch your volleyball match, so he's been looking forward to giving me spoilers for a while now.]"

"You were expecting it, then?"

Kenny nodded. "[You could say that, yeah.]" He sighed. "[But I didn't expect him to ruin everyone's fun, too. I feel kind of bad for coming to school today...]"

"No one would blame you for it. It's nothing new that Cartman has several screws lose and is a massive asshole." She reassured him.

"[I know, but it's still pretty much my fault.]" He frowned. "[...You know what the worst part is? He's right. I was planning on watching the episode on YouTube. It's not like I have any other options.]"

Wendy remained silent. From his tone she could tell he meant it as a joke, but it was still a rather sad scenario. She felt sympathetic, but had no idea what to say. Was there even any way to comfort someone in that situation? What was she supposed to say? 'I am sorry that your family is poor?'

Until it hit her. Something she could do for him.

"...Do you want to watch it with me?"

...

"[Huh...?]"

"Cartman is going to spread rumors about us even if you didn't come, isn't he?" She shrugged. "I was going to watch it as soon as I got home anyway. I don't really mind if you tag along. As long as you don't pee on my front door, that is." She offered a playful smile.

Kenny chuckled. "[Oh geez, I can't pee on the door? Haha... It'll be hard, but I think I can make that sacrifice.]" He joked.

"Do your best!" She giggled, and for some reason that gave Kenny a weird sense of accomplishment and happiness.

He scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "[But hey, uh... Do you mean it? I can watch it in your house...?]"

"If you want to."

"[...Won't I be a bother?]"

"Only if you make yourself one." She assured him, but he didn't seem convinced. "Really, it's fine. You did come to our game and stayed out of trouble, so see this as me thanking you. It's the least I can do to show my gratitude."

Kenny pondered for several moments. "[Well... If you say so, then... I'd be happy to accept.]"

Wendy nodded, satisfied. "Alright, cool. We'll talk when class is over."

"[Sounds good.]" Kenny looked at his watch. "[Oh, crap... We wasted quite a lot of time with Cartman.]"

Wendy checked her phone. "Oh, you're right. We still have five minutes though."

"[Is that enough for you to teach me how to not get killed by Nelly?]"

Wendy rolled her eyes and smiled. "Hm, probably not, but it'll have to do." She laughed at Kenny's reaction to that. "Relax, it'll be fine. Nelly is actually pretty easy to talk to."

That's not what Kenny remembered from their previous encounter. "[If you say so...]"

"Trust me. She's hot-headed, but she's a nice girl. Just keep a few things in mind when you talk to her, for example..."

...

Meanwhile, a pair of eyes watched the duo intently. His confusion was nearly tangible, clear in his expression like the difference between day and light. The boy had both hands in his pocket, unable to avert his gaze. It was unsettling how her smile made him feel so uncomfortable. Frustrated. Hurt. Thankfully, he had been able to forget her and move on... or so he thought. Something about seeing her sit alone with a boy that wasn't him brought up all kinds of feelings within him. But they were so overwhelming that he could barely breathe.

"Stan, what are you doing?" His best friend Kyle asked, approaching the boy with concern. "They're going to score if you don't pay attention."

"...I'm paying attention, don't worry dude." He tried to sound casual, but failed.

Kyle saw right through his friend, following his gaze to find a boy and a girl talking under a tree. The floor and tree branches were filled with snow, which made the duo stand out in the scenario. Orange and pink were within an arm of distance from one another, and the jew couldn't help but notice how his friend would tense up whenever that distance shortened or threatened to.

"...Kenny is talking to Wendy again, huh?" Kyle treaded carefully.

"Yeah." Stan said nothing for a few seconds. "...What do you think they're talking about?" He suddenly asked, and Kyle knew there was more to the question than it met the eye.

He chose his words carefully. "Well, Cartman did force him to watch the girls's volleyball game. Maybe they became friends?"

Stan frowned. "Enough for him to watch Game of Thrones in her house already?"

Kyle raised an eyebrow. "Dude, we heard that from Cartman, and that alone makes it hard to believe. But even if it's true, why do you care?" He had to ask, despite knowing the answer. He had seen this before.

"...No reason." Stan answered, but Kyle didn't sound convinced. "You know what? Let's go play football."

"...Well, ok." The jew nodded, still worried, but satisfied. At least Stan was going to focus his attention somewhere else.

Stan said nothing as the boys formed the teams, giving one last meaningful look at Kenny and Wendy before focusing on the game that was about to start.

* * *

...

_"...Well, I should have seen this coming." _Kenny thought as he exited the school bus and followed Wendy and her friends to her house.

Yes, her friends.

It turns out that Wendy and a few girls had previously arranged to watch the new Game of Thrones episode together, so they tagged along - though it would probably be more accurate to say _Kenny_ was the one tagging along as a last minute addition. Because, well, he was.

Being members of the volleyball team themselves, they too witnessed Kenny's support for them at the game and were touched by it, so thankfully, none of them were acting hostile towards him. Naturally, they were confused when Wendy told them he would go, but none of them were opposed to him tagging along, which was a big relief.

But hell, was it awkward.

He couldn't help but get the same overwhelming feeling of being out of place that he got when he first watched their practice. Despite it being a small group of no more than four girls, - Wendy included - the fact that Bebe, Red and Annie were equally popular (hot) girls, it was impossible for Kenny not to get self-conscious about being the only boy in there. He didn't even want to imagine how it'd be if all the girls that were invited were there. If four girls were enough for him to feel like a pimp, imagine ten.

Kenny walked a few steps behind them, trying not to stare at their butts and failing miserably. Ignoring their conversation about purses was easy, but how was he supposed to ignore the four attractive girls walking right in front of him? It was hard enough to supress dirty thoughts about watching a rather explicit show in the company of four girls, specially when there were porn plots that started exactly like that. So expecting him to ignore four butts that he regularly looked at anyway went against his nature as a boy and a pervert. It's not like he had anything else to distract himself from their conversation any. At some point the subject changed to makeup, still giving him no room to join it. Seriously, not to get political or anything, but what the fuck is a face primer?

"Hey, Kenny." Wendy called. Thankfully he reacted fast enough for her to miss him studying Bebe's butt physics as she walked. He soon realized that all eyes were on him. "Can you give us a male opinion?" She asked, motioning for him to approach them.

"[Uh, sure.]" He said, noticing she had a smartphone on her hand. It was displaying some kind of dress. Wait, when did they start talking about dresses?

"What do you think about these?" She swiped her finger left and right, showcasing two different pieces of female clothing. The first dress was a short, flouncy, pink dress. Kenny was shocked that he didn't see a group of pink ponies run by when he saw it. The second dress was a dark red that went to the floor. It was a soft silk with a few beads around the right side. The straps were thin and showed off the model's shoulders. It'd probably look good (hot) on someone with an actual figure, but the model was a kid as flat as a cutting board.

Quite frankly, what crossed Kenny's mind as he looked at those images was 'gay' and 'fucking gay', but he figured that wasn't the kind of answer they wanted to hear. But he didn't want to lie either. What if one of them actually wore one of these? He decided to settle for the middle term and be honest with them.

"[...Well, I don't know a thing about dresses but... Both look horrible.]" He admitted.

No one said a word, looking at one another in surpise before erupting into laughter. Kenny watched them with confusion, unsure if they saw his answer as a joke or if _he_ was the joke.

"Thanks!" Bebe said with tears in her eyes from laughing, turning back to the other girls and leaving a clueless Kenny to wonder what the hell just happened. No explanations were offered and soon they were back to their own little world.

He was starting to regret accepting Wendy's invitation and seriously considered coming up with some excuse to leave, but his plan was cut short when they eventually reached their destination.

"We're here." Wendy announced, though that didn't seem to be news to anyone other than Kenny.

Her house was painted a drab green similar to Kyle's house. It had a detached garage and, based on an outside view, it seemed to have the same floor plan as other residences from the town. The number attached next to the door was 28201.

The girls didn't wait for him to study the house's design to make their way in, so he had no choice but to follow them inside. Kenny muttered a 'excuse me' out of habit as he did, feeling somewhat nervous to be there. As he expected, the house had the same design as other houses he had been into. The front door room led to the living room, and further ahead was the kitchen. Kenny could see a glass door inside it that led to Wendy's backyard. There was a door next to the kitchen that led to what Kenny assumed to be a basement. Finally, there was a set of stairs leading to the second floor, where the bedrooms most likely were.

He didn't know what he was expecting, but Wendy's house was surprisingly simple. It was well-decorated, but nothing extravagant. Being there was equally exciting given the prospect of dwelving into forbidden territory, but it was also unsettling for the same reason.

"Mom, we're home!" Wendy called. She placed her backpack behind the couch, and so did the other girls nearly automatically. Kenny soon did the same.

A woman soon emerged from the kitchen. She had short black hair and was wearing a white shirt with a matching collar and a blue cardigan, as well as a brown skirt. She had lipstick on and was wearing gold earrings that sparkled whenever light hit them, making them hard not to notice.

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Testaburger." Annie, Bebe and Red said nearly in unison.

The woman smiled at them. "Hello girls." Wendy walked towards her and they hugged. "Hi sweetie. How was school?"

"It was alright." Wendy told her with a smile. Kenny was somewhat envious of how much they clearly loved each other. For his drug-addict, alcoholic mother to act that way towards him he'd probably have to convince her with beer.

"Oh? And who might you be?" The woman finally noticed Kenny's presence. Suddenly all eyes were on him again...

Before he could reply, Wendy did the introduction for him. "Mom, this is Kenny from our class. I invited him to watch Game of Thrones with us."

"[Nice to meet you, ma'am.]" He politely yet awkwardly offered his hand for her to shake. She seemed confused, but smiled and took his hand anyway.

"The pleasure is mine, Kenny." She told him. At least she understood what he said. "Go wash your hands, everyone. Popcorn will be ready soon." She announced.

"Yay!" The girls cheered and rushed upstairs.

Kenny hesitated to go after them, finding it impolite to go anywhere near someone's bedroom on his first visit at their house, even if that wasn't his destination.

Wendy's mother giggled at him. "Go on, don't be shy. It's the door right at the end of the hallway." She told him.

"[T-Thanks.]" He said, making his way upstairs.

He reached the higher floor and was unable to resist the urge to study this new, unexplored land, taking notice of the carpet colors, the paintings hanging on the wall and so on. As he expected, this is were the bedrooms were located. The thought that one of these belonged to Wendy - to a _girl_ \- made his heart race. Sure, he had been to his former girlfriend's house and bedroom before. But Tammy was as poor as him, if not more, so there wasn't much to see. But Wendy was different. Not just because she had a better house, but also because Kenny still knew very little about her. What kind of treasures could he find on these forbidden lands, he wondered? Sexy underwear lying on the floor? Porn magazines hidden under her bed? A diary?

_"Pull yourself together, you retard. You're here to watch TV, nothing more." _Kenny told himself, slapping his cheeks with both hands to try and sort his thoughts. But damn, it was hard.

It was impossible to miss the bathroom since it was directly in front of him, at the end of the hallway. Despite knowing how astronomically low were the chances of finding the girls passionately french-kissing in the bathtub, Kenny was still disappointed when he saw them merely taking turns washing their hands. The situation was awkward enough as it was, so he didn't want to make things worse by following them inside the small room. He waited outside for his turn, trying to ignore their inquisitive glances as they moved past him one by one, going down the stairs right afterwards.

Wendy was the last one. She dried her hands with a small towel and watched her reflection on the mirror, doing small things like fixing her hair and so on. He slowly approached the bathroom door, not entering yet. They met eyes as she watched him through the mirror.

"Oh, sorry, I'm in your way, aren't I? Go ahead." She said as she stepped down from the small bench and moved sideways. He hesitated for a moment, wondering why she hadn't left the bathroom and trying hard not to have any dirty thoughts.

"[...Thanks.]" He said as he entered. He quickly scanned the bathroom as he entered, curious. He half-expected to find all kinds of beauty products that women use, like makeup or four different types of shampoo and skin creams, but there wasn't much lying around. Kenny figured the stuff was kept in the drawers under the sink, since all he could see was a toothbrush holder, a hair comb and some liquid soap.

As Kenny removed his gloves, put them in his pockets and started to wash his hands, Wendy made her way to the door, but she didn't leave. "...Are you okay?" She inquired.

Kenny looked at her through the mirror. "[...Huh? Yeah, why?]" He asked. Was he doing something wrong?

...That thing was liquid soap, right?!

"You've been quiet for a while now." She told him. "You're not angry, are you?"

"[Angry...? No, of course not. Why do you ask?]" Kenny finished washing his hands and dried them, turning to face Wendy with confusion in his eyes.

"Well, I did forget to tell you that the girls would come. It wasn't my intention to make you feel left out, really. ...I'm sorry." She apologized, looking remorseful.

Something about the look on her face bothered Kenny. "[H-Hey, it's alright. I'm not upset or anything. I'm just not the best fit for a conversation about purses.]" He joked.

She didn't laugh. "That's the point, Kenny. You're my guest. It's not right for you to be left in the sidelines for the sake of our girl talk. You should be having fun too." Her voice was calm, but she looked angry. He wasn't sure if it was at him or at herself.

He remembered how she tried to show him dress pictures. Was that her trying to be considerate fit him in? To think he actually thought ill of her for a second there... He felt like a piece of shit.

"[I didn't really make any effort to join the conversation either, so don't blame yourself. You didn't do anything wrong, and my day isn't ruined.]" She looked at him in silence, but didn't seem convinced. Cautiously, he brought a hand to her shoulder as a reassuring gesture. Thankfully, she didn't shove it away or showed any sign of being uncomfortable with it. "[...Don't worry. I'm happy that you're concerned about me, and I'm still happy that you invited me... Alright?"

She said nothing for a while, looking down with an unreadable expression. She sighed, not looking pleased, but not as annoyed either. "...Alright." Her eyes trailed around the bathroom, having trouble finding their way to his, but eventually doing so. They were shy. Curious, even.

That's when Kenny realized the situation he was in.

They were alone in the bathroom.

His hand was still in her shoulder.

They were centimeters away from each other.

_"Oh shit... Why the hell is she so cute..." _Kenny thought angrily, dirty thoughts penetrating his mental defenses at alarming rates. He couldn't help but wonder how it would feel to kiss-

"Ahem..." A female voice called them from outside the bathroom. Both Kenny and Wendy jerked as if they'd seen a ghost. "Am I interrupting something...?"

Never in their lives had they wished so hard that they had seen a ghost, or a serial killer, or even Satan himself instead of the girl standing by the doorway. The look in her eyes and the malicious smirk in Bebe's face were beyond all levels of infuriating. One look into her expression and Kenny somehow just knew that trying to explain this misunderstanding would be completely and utterly pointless. He flinched when Wendy spun her body to face her friend, surprised at the sudden motion. He awkwardly pulled his arm back and shoved his hand in his pocket, almost as if hiding it.

"N-No, you're not." Wendy said, but her voice sounded less confident than usual. Her red face didn't make her any less convincing either. "What is it?"

Bebe feigned innocence. "Oh, nothing... I just wanted to let you know that popcorn is ready..." She didn't even try to hide her amusement as she watched Wendy's expression.

Wendy was fuming with anger and embarrassment. "G-Great, let's go then." She grumbled and walked out of the bathroom, going down the stairs in world record speed. Bebe giggled to herself, delighted and clearly enjoying her friend's misery as she followed her. That snake...

"[She deserves a good spanking... Er... I mean, a good beating.]" Kenny muttered to himself before going after the two. "[Can this day get any more fucking awkward...?]" He sighed...

* * *

...

"...Oh boy... Do you think the queen is going to kill him?" Bebe questioned, jaw dropped and eyes glued to the screen.

"[Maybe. I mean, he left her and might join the enemy army. That's treason, right?]"

"But they're in love... Hell, she's pregnant. With his child!" Bebe exclaimed.

Red shook her head. "It sure doesn't feel that way in these later seasons..."

"I don't really like Jaime." Wendy confessed.

Kenny eyed her with shock."[...I'm seriously considering peeing on your front door right now.]" He said jokingly, sharing a laugh with everyone.

The rest of the afternoon proceeded smoothly. Just like his first day watching the girls's volleyball practice, what started off as a nightmare soon turned into something surprisingly enjoyable for Kenny.

Despite the embarrasing episode in the bathroom, Kenny and Wendy soon forgot about it as they watched Game of Thrones, and thankfully so did Bebe, at least for the time being. Not even Cartman's spoilers were able to ruin their afternoon. It was amazing how a show was capable of being thrilling to the point of uniting people who never talked with each other. Sure, it was nothing new for these girls in particular to be together; they were friends since forever. But Kenny was not only not a part of their group, but also someone they didn't trust until no more than a few days ago. And yet, one would look at them discussing the show and mistake them for long-time friends. Maybe saying they 'trusted' him was a bit of a stretch, but the fact remained that whatever animosity they had for him seemed to be gone without a trace. It honestly felt like nothing could ruin that day.

...But of course, Kenny knew his luck better than anyone. If one thing was certain for him, it was that his day could always get worse.

As if to prove him right, a woman's scream suddenly interrupted their conversation, followed by the sounds of glass breaking and what seemed to be a wooden chair hitting the floor.

Wendy's expression immediately changed into one of concern. "Mom?" She called, but the screaming didn't cease. More glass exploded nearby, this time a few shards even came flying out of the kitchen doors and into the living room. The girls were mortified; eyes widened and genuine fear painted on their faces. "Mom?!" Wendy called her mother again, this time louder and sounding more desperate. As the screaming continued, Annie unconsciously hid behind Red, who covered her mouth with both hands as if to prevent herself from screaming. Bebe froze, both hands to her ears in an attempt to make the screaming stop. She was so tense that it looked like she would shatter to pieces. Even Kenny couldn't help but feel tense, wondering what in the bloody hell was going on.

_"What the fuck are you waiting for?! Move, you idiot!_" He heard Mysterion's voice in his head.

His alter ego was right. There was no time to stand there like a moron while Mrs Testaburger could be in danger. He swore to defend the people from his town, and she was no exception.

"[Behind the couch. Go!]" He motioned tapping each girl's shoulder to get their attention. They nodded and did as he said. He threw a glance at the kitchen's interior from where he stood, but he couldn't see anything other than what were once plates and cups, scattered on the ground in several pieces. "[Stay here.]" He told them, not even waiting for a response before cautiously walking towards the kitchen.

"Wait!" Wendy whispered from behind the couch and he stopped. "What do you think you're doing? What if there's a burglar in there?!"

This time, Kenny heard the sound of metal falling to the ground. Tableware, maybe? "[Then your mother needs help!]" He replied before running to the door, ignoring the girl's pleas. He rested his back to the wall right next to the kitchen door, slowly moving his torso to get a view insid-

*squiii*

...It soon became clear what the fuss was about. Squeaking loudly, the reason behind the chaos inside the kitchen ran past Kenny at mach speed, most likely as stressed and scared of all the noise as the people involved.

It wasn't some rapist that broke into their house, nor was Mrs Testaburger screaming because she burned herself or something. It was none other than a passing rat that caused all the commotion, and it was because of it that Mrs Testaburger was on top of the kitchen counter, tiptoeing next to the sink while holding her skirt.

Kenny sighed, feeling a mix of relief and annoyance. _"...It was a rat. Goddamn it. Well, at least she stopped screaming. I'm glad it's ov-"_

_**"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"**_

A thunderous blast of sonore pollution assauted Kenny's ears, raping and nearly rendering his eardrums useless with what seemed to have over a thousand decibels. He instinctively pulled the two strings hanging from his kangaroo jacket and tightened his hood around his head in a futile attempt of blocking some of the sound.

It took him some moments to recover, somewhat disoriented as his brain adjusted and adapted to the continuous noise and it's destructive power. He turned around to find all the girls standing on top of the couch, similar to Wendy's mom. They all tiptoed awkwardly and screamed, with too little space to run away but also not daring to step down from the couch. The rat dodged as they threw cushions at him. It ran aimlessly, looking for somewhere to hide but not finding any good places. Kenny wasn't sure whether he should be amused or if he should kill himself for some peace and quiet. He couldn't understand what was so scary about rats. Hell, this one didn't even have a literal human penis protruding from it's back. But then again, Kenny wasn't one to judge. He of all people was more than used to seeing rats; his house being infested with those. Besides, he was dealing with girls here. He still had a few thousand deaths ahead of him before coming even close to understanding women.

Just then, a man entered the house through the front door, visibly startled by all the ruckus. He had ginger hair and a ginger beard, and was wearing a blue-green shirt and black trousers. If Kenny were to guess, that man was Wendy's father.

"What the hell is going on here?!" Mr. Testaburger asked, but he could barely hear his own yell. Before anyone could say anything, the answer to his question passed right between his legs, further startling the man. "Ohh, shit! A rat!" He jumped.

"Do something!" Mrs. Testaburger yelled from the kitchen, most likely still on top of the counter.

Confused, the poor man rushed inside the kitchen and returned with a broom, which he used to try and smack the rat with. Problem is, the rat was clearly much faster than the ginger. Not just that, but Kenny could see from a mile away that the man was intoxicated.

He didn't know until now that the man was Wendy's father, but Kenny had seen Mr. Testaburger numerous times in the past. Thanks to his part-time job at City Wok, Kenny often observed the drunkards that left Skeeter's Bar and Crunchy's Micro Brew, since it wasn't unusual for his own father to be in one of these places; doing literally nothing as usual. As it turns out, Wendy's father as a regular at the latter, always sitting in the same table by the window and drinking beer for hours long. As a result, Kenny wouldn't be surprised if the man had just arrived from said place. The fact that his movements were wobbly and awkward only confirmed his suspicions.

_"Well, this is getting nowhere. Might as well show them how it's done."_

Sighing, Kenny picked an empty Amazon box on top of the dining table, removing the protective plastic and bubble wrap still inside it. He then watched as the rat scurried around, looking desperately for a place to hide but being met only with deafening screams straight from the depths of hell. With some aiming, Kenny masterfully threw his shoe, right next to the rat, which startled the poor animal and caused it to run. As Kenny predicted, the rat ran to the opposite direction, and he was already waiting there with open Amazon box. The rat barely had any time to process the fact that he fell for a trap before Kenny raised and closed the cardboard box. Squeaking, the distressed rodent fought his way out of the box, but thankfully, Kenny was already on his way to the window, where he opened the box and yeeted the rat out of the house.

With the rat's departure, all the noise finally died down. The girls gasped for air, recovering from their abuse to their own vocal cords while Kenny retrieved his shoe.

"I-Is it gone?" Bebe asked, uneasily scanning the room with the same fear in her eyes as someone who just saw Slenderman.

"[Yeah, it's gone. You can come down now.]" Kenny said, surprised he still had his hearing. The girls were still a bit hesitant, so he offered a hand to help them. One by one, they accepted his help and stepped down from the couch, eventually relaxing and regaining their composure.

Mr. Testaburger nodded in satisfaction. "Good, it's over." He yawned. "My job here is done." He said as he moved upstairs, earning a frown from everyone present.

Mrs. Testaburger herself eventually emerged from the kitchen once she realized the 'danger' was gone. "...Sorry for the ruckus kids. That little bastard caught me by surprise, and... well..." She looked embarrased. She turned to Kenny. "Anyway, thanks young man. For coming to my rescue and for getting rid of that thing. What you did was pretty impressive." She patted his head with a smile.

Kenny blushed, but again, no one was able to see it. "[N-No problem. I didn't do much though.]" He told her, and he genuinely believed that. Capturing and releasing rats was merely a pastime activity in his house. He was so used to it that he could have caught that rat barehanded if he wanted to, but thankfully he figured at the last second that the girls wouldn't come any close to him if he did so. Besides, some rats could be pretty agressive. The last thing he wanted was to get his ass kicked by a rat in front of all these girls. Knowing his luck, he would have probably even lost an eyeball in the process.

"I'm not going to lie: You were pretty cool back there." Red admitted. "I kind of took you as the shy, inhibited type, so that was a surprise."

Bebe nodded. "Yeah. The way you went to the kitchen was really... manly." She said, but the girls knew that what she really meant was 'hot'.

"[T-Thanks.]" He awkwardly rubbed the back of his head.

Mrs. Testaburger chuckled. "Well well, aren't you popular with the ladies, little hero?" She teased.

Geez, way to make the atmosphere a hundred times more awkward... But Kenny would be lying if he said it didn't feel nice to earn some recognition, specially from so many girls. Seeing all those smiles made him feel special. Appreciated.

_"...Funny. I lost a bet to Cartman, and I'm forced to do what he says. I have to put up with his spoilers and teasing. And yet... I don't feel like I lost that bet at all."  
_

* * *

...

The sun was setting by the time everyone decided to leave; weak sunrays painting the snow covered streets into a light orange. The sky wasn't dark yet; a mix of blue, orange, and white thanks to the clouds. It was beautiful to look at, but kind of depressing at the same time.

As the day moved on after the ratpocalypse, Kenny learned that the reason behind all the broken plates and cups was because sometimes the rat would stand still as it ate food from the ground, so Wendy's mother would attempt to hit it with what was close at hand; and that meant throwing whatever was within her reach at the poor animal. Some things were knocked over as she tiptoed over the counter, so no matter how you looked at it, she single-handedly destroyed her own kitchen. Mr. Testaburger apparently gave zero fucks, his so-called 'afternoon nap before dinner' turning into the equivalent of a deep slumber thanks to the alcohol.

Being the good-natured kid that he is, Kenny volunteered to help clean the mess, as did his female classmates. Mrs. Testaburger was more than happy to accept their help, so they spent the rest of the afternoon carefully collecting and disposing of all the broken glass, as well as retrieving all the items that were thrown and therefore scattered through the kitchen. The woman was clearly embarrased and frustrated at her own foolishness, but still took her time to carefully make a list of all the broken items that would need replacement. Kenny couldn't help but notice where Wendy's diligence and efficiency came from, harboring some newfound respect for the woman.

The kids were now standing outside of Wendy's house, talking and laughing about the day's events as they waited for Bebe's mother to pick them up. Much to Wendy's satisfaction, Kenny was an actual part of the conversation this time, and was way more talkative than usual. He went from the sidelines to being the light of the party in the span of a few hours.

_"This boy sure is full of surprises..."_ Wendy thought, watching in silence as he talked to her friends. Despite being a completely mundane and normal thing for kids to talk to each other, it was still quite an interesting sight. Funny, even.

Setting aside the fact that not even a week ago these exact same girls were still angry and disgusted at boys, it was rather surprising how it was Kenny of all boys who got them to get over it. Not their (former) boyfriends or popular kids like Bridon Gueermo, but rather someone who none of them were particularly close to. It was like as if the day he first entered the gym and asked to watch their volleyball practice marked the beginning of something new.

"Mom said she'll be here in five minutes." Bebe announced, typing on her phone. She put it away then turned to Kenny. "Are you sure you don't want a ride? It's not too late to change your mind."

Kenny shook his head. "[No need, thanks. I'm actually heading to the opposite direction.]" He took a look at his Adventure Time digital watch. "[My work shift starts soon.]"

"You have a job?" Annie asked, sounding genuinely curious and impressed.

"[Y-Yeah. It's nothing big, though... I just help out at City Wok.]" He said, a little embarrased. He felt like she had different, more exciting jobs in mind, but she didn't look any less impressed to find out his job was simple.

It wasn't just her. The other girls seemed equally interested. "You work every day?" Red asked.

"[I have the weekends off, but other than that, I work every day from six PM to midnight.]"

Wendy widened her eyes. "And you still go to school the next day?"

"[Well... Yeah.]" He said, unsure what to make of all the intense looks of surprise in the girls faces. They didn't think he was a fool or anything, did they...?

No one said a word for a while, until eventually Red exhaled loudly. "...You're not going to make this any easy for us, huh?"

Kenny blinked. "[...What?]"

The redhead crossed her arms and looked away, an unreadable expression on her face. Naturally, Kenny had no idea what to say or do; puzzled beyond belief at this sudden turn of events. The conversation had been flowing nicely up until now... What in the hell went wrong?

Bebe sighed. "Look... What she's trying to say is that we're sorry." She told him. That... sure didn't look like an apology to him, nor did he know why they wanted to apologize. Suffice it to say things weren't getting any less confusing. "...You see, after all the trolling from a while ago, we just kinda thought that all boys were jerks. But..."

"None of us expected you to be such a cool guy." Red finally spoke, still with a hard expression on her face. "...Deep down, we were hoping you were an asshole; we were hoping that you would do somithing bad to us, but I guess we were just looking for reasons to be angry at you. And yet... Despite how we treated you these past few days, you actually went to out volleyball game. You always help us clean after practice, and now you helped us today, too. So yeah... We kinda feel like the assholes now."

"[Stop.]" Kenny shook his head. Everyone was confused when he sighed and looked down. "[You don't need to apologize to me. I'm not as nice as you think I am.]" Everyone listened intently. "[I don't know anything about the trolling, but... I was there. In the 'Wieners Out' parade, I mean. Maybe you don't remember, or maybe you didn't see me, but I was there.]" Their faces stiffened, complicated emotions popping in their faces. "[...You might not believe me, but our intention was never to hurt you girls. It was more about 'sticking with our own kind' and 'being proud of what we are' than attacking you. We just wanted to show that we, too, were hurt by Skankhunt42. Even if not directly, we too were victims of their abuse. We lost friendships, relationships, and even your trust. We had several friends deleting their social media accounts, and we had our mothers photoshopped with dicks in their mouths, too.]" He gave them an apologetic look. "[...But either way, I know what we did was unfair and how much it must have disgusted you girls. So if anything, I'm the one who should be apologizing.]" He gave them a serious look, but he'd be lying if he said he wasn't pressured by their gazes. "[I, uh... I'm sorry. I can't speak for everyone but... I hope you can forgive us someday.]"

Embarrased by his own speech, Kenny looked down again; his gaze suddenly glued to the ground like a magnet meeting another in an attempt to avoid eye contact with the girls. He might have sounded cool (in his head, at least), but damn... Each second felt like an eternity as he waited for them to say something. He half expected them to forget about their own apology once he mentioned the Weiners Out parade, but there was no avoiding it. If he really wanted to apologize and be their friend, then he had to put what he was feeling in words. He didn't regret demanding respect and sticking with his friends for something they believed in, but it did leave a bad taste in his mouth to know how many people they hurt in the process. Once he started attenting their practice, he became painfully aware of the pain and resentment they caused for these girls, and that made him feel like a piece of shit.

Before anyone could say anything, a blue car pulled over in front of the house, honking a few times to get the kids's attention. The woman in the driver's seat had short blonde hair, which was combed to one side. Kenny couldn't quite make from where he stood, but it seemed the woman was wearing a lot of makeup, such as a red lipstick and purple eyeshadow - or whatever that was called. She also had a pink blouse over a white collared shirt, but Kenny couldn't see what she was wearing on her lower half. And holy shit, her boobs were huge - maybe even bigger than Stan's mother's. Could it be...? A new MILF?

"Be there in a minute!" Bebe waved at the woman. She then turned to him, as did all the other girls. "...That's my mother." She said awkwardly.

"[I-I see.]" Kenny replied, equally flustered.

Kenny watched as, one by one, the girls moved and hugged Wendy, exchanging good-byes and a few other pleasantries. He felt a pang in his chest, feeling left out and lonely all of a sudden as his apology went seemingly ignored. He sighed, looking at the ground, dejected.

That's when he noticed someone standing right in front of him. He raised his gaze to find a blushing Annie, watching her with confusion as she digged her the tip of foot in the snow, trying not to sound shy but failing. "I, uh... I had a lot of fun today. I didn't know what to think when I heard you were watching TV with us today, but... I'm glad you did." She said, averting her gaze. "Also... Thanks for the apology, Kenny. It really means a lot to hear that." She looked at him, offering a smile. "I forgive you."

Kenny was caught off guard by that, and ended up blushing himself. "[N-No problem. I'm glad to hear that.]" He replied awkwardly, but genuinely happy.

He barely had any time to collect his thoughts when he realized there was someone else standing in front of him. Unlike Annie, Bebe didn't look shy; instead looking at him right in the eyes and smiling. "Thanks for today, and for watching our match, too." She told him. But unfortunately, he didn't know how to react when she suddenly gave him a goodbye hug. It was as unexpected as when Heidi hugged him in the gym a few days ago. Like then, his nostrils were once again met with a sweet scent of shampoo. Her hug was warm and gentle, but Kenny couldn't help but tense up; his body stiff and somewhat unwelcoming. Part of him was hesitant to lower his guard around them; rightfully so. They were angry at him not too long ago, so he was acting in his balls's best interests. Still, he somehow managed to return the hug, surprised at how soft her body was.

"[A-Ah... Thanks...]" He said, still shocked.

"We should hang out again sometime." She said; her cheek still glued to his as they embraced. He heard he clearly, but his brain could only process the fact that he had a popular (hot) girl in his arms and that he could feel her small in-development breasts pressing against his chest. Not just that, but he could feel her breath tickling his ear through his hoodie. The situation was so sudden that his dirty mind couldn't help but see it as rather erotic. As casually as he could, he pulled apart from the hug before a certain treacherous little flab of meat realized what was going on and reacted.

"[Yeah, I'd like that.]" He replied with a nod.

She smiled and made her way to the car, but stopped midway to look at her friend. Red watched him cautiously; arms crossed and a serious expression in her face. It wasn't until someone cleared their throat that she moved, sighing as she approached him. "...I still don't know what to think of this. I feel that it's too soon to tell if you're an asshole or not.]" She told him.

"[Red-]"

"But." She cut him off. "...I'd like to believe you're not one. So you better prove me right, you hear that?"

Kenny nodded, smiling. "[Deal. Don't worry, I'll pee on Wendy's door whenever she talks crap about Jon Snow again.]"

Thankfully, the joke worked and Red laughed. "Alright, I'm counting on you."

"Hey!" The class president, who had been quiet all this time, finally exclaimed, earning more laughter from the other kids.

Suddenly, they heard honking again. Bebe's mother seemed to be getting impatient. Her daughter, done with the parting words, made her way to the car, muttering something like 'geez, we're coming!'

Annie approached Kenny again. "Bye Kenny, see you tomorrow." She said, and timidly moved to hug him. This time he was a bit more mentally prepared for sudden signs of affection like this, so he hugged her back earnestedly. Red seemed hesitant, but conceded and ended up giving him a goodbye hug too. Now that both her two other friends gave him hugs, she didn't want to be the only girl to give him a handshake.

Unfortunately for Kenny - who wished it lasted a bit longer - the hug-fest ended. The three girls made their way to the car and entered. Kenny and Wendy watched as the blue car's engine roared to life, waving at the everyone inside the car. Soon the car took off, eventually building speed and disappearing from view as it rounded a corner.

"[...They're good people.]" Kenny said to no one in particular.

"Yeah, they're the best." She looked at him. "It seems that they're starting to open up to you. Must be better than being glared at, huh?"

"[Haha, yeah, you could say that.]" He brought his gaze back to the spot where he last saw the blue car "[...It's kind of weird to be on good terms with you all, though. A week ago you probably would have burned me alive if I came within an arm's reach to you.]"

"Oh, come on. You make us sound like a bunch of savages." She laughed.

He, too, looked cheerful. "[Yeah, right. You don't know how intense your glares are; otherwise you'd think the same.]"

"Oh yeah?" She said, throwing one mean glare at him.

Yikes. "[...Please don't.]" He said, and they both broke into laughter. "[Still, I'm glad they don't hate me.]" He turned to face her. "[...It's all thanks to you.]"

"No." She shook her head. "I didn't do anything. You got them to not hate you all by yourself."

"[Is that so...]" Kenny said nothing for a while, a thoughtful look on his face as he eyed the girl with the pink hat. "[You know... I've been wondering about this for some time now, but... What made **you** not hate me?]"

"...What?" The question caught her off guard.

"[I've been curious ever since that time.]" He started, thinking hard about his words. "[...Why did you help me back then? In the gym, I mean.]" He paused. "[You were angry, too. When I entered that gym, you were glaring at me like everyone else; I saw that with my own two eyes. And yet... At some point, you suddenly decided to stand up for me. Why...?]"

Now it was Wendy who fell silent, directing her gaze to the sun setting far away. The sky bathed her in bright orange; the sunrays weak yet vivid. Wind blew, soothing with enough strenght for it to be audible. Her straight black hair danced in the air, gently, like small waves in a beach. It was truly a captivating scene. The more Kenny looked at her, the more he found himself unable to deny how beautiful she was. It was a different kind of beauty than that of the bikini bimbos we watched so often. Those women were undeniably hot, and naturally, Kenny lusted for them. But that was all he felt for them. He couldn't imagine anything other than sex when it came to those women.

Wendy, on the other hand... At that moment, she looked like a deity. Enticing, serene, enigmatic, and without a shred of indecency. She was the living proof that women didn't have to be slutty or vulgar to make his heart stop. He felt unable to tear his gaze away from her; drawn to her image with the same intensity of a moth to a flame. Never had a girl his age taken his breath away like this before.

Eventually, she spoke. Her voice was so gentle and sweet that the wind could carry it away. "...You're right. When you first entered, I wasn't any less suspicious at you than the other girls. If anything... I was even angrier than them. Not because you're boy or because I had anything against you personally. But rather because looking at you... Reminded me of Stan." She said, her expression hard. Emotionless. "...It still hurts to think about him. And seeing one of his best friends there felt like a slap to my face. Because deep down... I was hoping he would be the one to show up."

Kenny couldn't bring himself to say anything, as if a lump had formed on his throat to prevent him from uttering a word. Listening to Wendy made him feel dirty. Unclean. He felt like he was listening to something that was never meant to reach his ears. The girl was strong, and her feelings sure were well hidden under her words.

But they were there.

Unconsciously, he lowered his head, ashamed. He cursed himself for bringing up the subject and, along with it, the painful memories that haunted her.

"[...]"

Wendy continued. "...But then... I saw what you did for Heidi." She paused. Still ashamed, Kenny slowly raised his head to look at her. "I saw how she accused you in front of everyone; to be conspiring with Cartman, nonetheless. And yet, you consoled her. You returned her hug and wiped her tears..."

"[...]"

"It had been months since the last time she had smiled. No matter what we told her, she wouldn't forget that fat piece of garbage. She just couldn't bring herself to move on. But then you showed up and told her what she needed to hear." Their eyes met. "...At that moment, I had hope." She smiled a little. "I thought, 'Maybe... Just maybe, boys are not that bad'. A part of me genuinely wanted to believe that." Another meaningful pause. "...And you proved me right."

"[...What?]"

"I thought that being around you would only bring back painful memories. That you would be a constant reminder of my broken relationship." She paused. "But it was the complete opposite. Seeing you support us in our matches, helping you with Nelly, hanging out with you like this... It's been fun."

"[Wendy...]"

They fell silent; the only audible sounds being the wind blowing softly and the occasional car passing by. Kenny was rendered speechless, clearly not expecting the girl to hold such a high opinion of him. She smiled, then looked into the distance again.

"That being said..." She looked at her phone. "You're going to be late to your job." She reminded him. Startled, he looked into his watch and noticed he had, indeed, spent quite a lot of time standing there.

"[A-Ah, you're right! I better hurry.]" He grabbed his bag on the floor, then paused, turning back to Wendy. "[Hey...]"

"What?"

He hesitated, but slowly approached her. With each step he took in her direction, their heart beats increased slightly. Wendy didn't move when he stood right in front of her, her mind taking her back to the brief moment they spent together in the bathroom. She had the excuse that they were in an enclosed space to justify how close they were to each other before, but they were literally out in the open now. Him being so close made her nervous, but for some reason she couldn't move away.

"[So, uh... T-Thanks for today, Wendy. I had a great time with all of you.]" Before she could say anything, he suddenly broke the distance between them and wrapped his arms around her in a warm embrace. "[...Also... I'm sorry.]"

Wendy's body froze, confused. "...H-Hey... I already forgave you, remember? It's fine..."

"[...Not that.]" He said nothing for a moment, but his hold of her got slightly more intense. "[I'm sorry that it was me... who entered that gym. And... I'm sorry for bringing back those memories...]"

Wendy's eyes widened as she realized what was going on. She had been in his shoes, and she knew exactly what was going through his head as he embraced her and apologized so deeply.

Guilt.

She didn't expect her little speech right now to invoke such feelings within him, especially since what was bothering her was not his fault in any way. And yet, she could feel it in his words and in that tight embrace how he genuinely felt remorseful. Even if indirectly, the fact that he caused her pain visibly bothered him. Maybe it didn't make much sense, and most people would see him as dramatic and overly emotional. But... At that moment... Wendy felt like she got a glimpse of the true Kenny.

And it brought a smile to her face, straight from her heart.

Eventually, she returned his hug; her small arms gently holding him. "...Don't be." She pulled her hug apart slightly, standing face to face with him with both arms in his shoulders. She looked deep into his eyes. "I didn't say those things because I am trying to blame you or anything. Stan and I ruined what we had on our own, so please... Don't feel responsible for my misery. And please don't think I see you as some sort of replacement either. Believe me when I say this, but... I'm glad it was you who showed up. And I'm really, really happy that we became friends." She said with a fierce, honest look in her face.

Kenny could only respond by hugging her again, which she was more than glad to reciprocrate. "[...Yeah... I feel the same.]" He muttered, keeping the hug for as long as he could.

Eventually, he awkwardly broke the hug apart, satisfied that she didn't look grossed out or uncomfortable with his bold move. Still, he took a few steps back to maintain a safe distance between them. "[Well... I have to go now. I don't want to get in the way of your studies either.]"

"It's alright. I'm pretty ahead on those, so don't worry." She looked at her phone. "Are you sure you don't want a ride? My mother would really wouldn't mind to drop you at City Wok. It's literally five minutes away."

"[Thanks. No need though. If I leave now, I'll arrive on time. Besides, I like to walk.]"

Wendy nodded. "Hmm... How about a glass of water before you leave, then? We should still have a few surviving cups." She joked.

Kenny chuckled. "[I think I'll pass on that too. But thanks.]"

"Oh, well." She shrugged. "I'll see you tomorrow then." She headed for the door, but stopped and turned back. "...You're coming to our practice, right?"

"[There's no way I'd miss it.]" She smiled at that. "[...By the way, would you mind if I bring someone with me?]"

At this she tilted her head in confusion. "No, of course not. Spectators are more than welcome anytime."

"[Ironic...]" Kenny said, remembering the first time he went to spectate. If that was their welcome commitee, then they needed to seriously work on that.

Wendy rolled her eyes once she realized what he was talking about and smiled. "...Alright, fine. I guess we aren't that welcoming when we're angry." She giggled. "But don't worry, that won't happen again."

["I hope so. I still have nightmares about that day..."]

"There you go, making us sound like savages again." They both laughed. "...But, if you don't mind me asking... Who do you plan to bring to our practice?"

"[Hmm... Sorry, that's top-secret.]"

"Oh, come on! You can't say this after you got me curious!" Wendy frowned.

"[That's your punishment for glaring at me. You'll only find out tomorrow.]"

"...I take it back. You're a dick."

Kenny laughed.

"[Maybe... But you'll forgive me, won't you?]" He patted her shoulder in a friendlt manner. Suddenly, his watch beeped. "[Oh crap, I'll be late!]" He ran into the streets, half turned into Wendy's direction and waving his hand. "Bye Wendy! See you tomorrow!" He said and ran away.

"Dork..." Wendy muttered as she watched his receding back. Once he made a turn and disappeared from view, she finally opened her front door. "...I'll forgive you, just this once..."

...

...

_**To be continued...  
**_

* * *

**A/N: There we go, everyone! Another chapter completed, and it has over 10k words! I've been having more time to work on this story now, so do expect more frequent updates! They won't be fast, but I'll make sure to provide juicy, fat chapters like this one! Thanks for sticking with me this far, and as usual, don't forget to leave a review!**

**I apologize if it feels like Wendy's and Kenny's friendship is escalating too quickly, or if they are too OC. I don't want to rush a relationship between them, and I won't. I want it to have depth, emotion, trust; and these aren't thing that you feel overnight. At the same time, however, I don't want them to have awkward interactions forever. I want them to genuinely start liking each other through a meaningful friendship.**

**PS: Game of Thrones fans, can you see the joke I made at the beginning? Meme lords, what about the reference when Mr. Testaburger spots the rat? Hahaha!**

**Anyway, that's it for now. To be honest I'm kind of drunk right now, lol. See you in the next chapter!**


	6. Regret

"[...And that's Mr. Mackey's office. You can go talk to him whenever you have a problem.]"

"Uh-huh." The girl nodded, looking around.

Kenny scratched the back of his head with his free hand. "[Let's see... Oh yeah, the cafeteria is that way. Also, over there is the Principal's Office.]"

"You mean the scary guy with sunglasses...?"

Kenny chuckled. "[Yeah, that's the one.]"

"Hmm..." The girl pondered for a few seconds. She then pointed towards a door that read 'Cissies'. "What's that?" She asked.

"[Ah, uh... That's a bathroom. But don't pay it any mind. Just use the girl's bathroom right next to it.]"

"Okay!" She beamed, grinning from ear to ear.

Kenny couldn't help but smile, happy that the girl was enjoying herself. He figured she would get shy and nervous to be in a foreign place and around so many people she didn't know, and maybe deep down she was. But at the same time, it was visible in her eyes how excited she was to be there.

Today was Karen McCormick's first day at South Park Elementary. It took a lot of time and several visits from a certain mysterious, intimidating superhero, but Mrs. McCormick finally realized (or rather, was convinced) that her daughter should start going to school rather than staying home all day. By going to school, Karen would be able to make friends, learn new things every day, spend less time with her drunk father who paid no attention to her and more time with her beloved big brother. But, most importantly, she'd get to eat decent meals. The school cafeteria wasn't any gourmet restaurant, but it was better than eating frozen waffles on all three meals. It was a win-win situation for everyone.

Holding her hand, Kenny gave her a brief tour of the school, teaching her how she should behave in the hallways, showing her where her locker was, and so on. It was weird, but he was kind of enjoying it. The school was huge and there was a lot to see, but deep down he wished they could spend more time like this.

Several pairs of eyes watched them as they walked through the corridors.

"Kenny... Everyone is looking at us..." Karen whispered, clunging to her brother's arm timidly.

"[Don't worry, they're just curious because you're new here. They'll stop looking soon.]"

"Okay..." She said, but didn't seem any less uncomfortable. As she clung to his arm she half hid behind his back, suddenly feeling shy. He could feel her little heart beating fast as they walked; his arm held tightly to her chest as if it was a shield. Kenny smiled again. His sister was just too cute.

At the same time, however, he was worried about her. Sure, being the new kid would always suck and be awkward at first; there was no avoiding it. But Karen was someone deprived of social skills, having grown up as a shut-in (against her will) and, as a result, barely making any friends outside of the internet. As sweet and innocent she was, it wouldn't be surprising if she didn't fit in any groups.

Kenny blamed himself for that; always going out in crazy adventures with his friends and leaving her at home. Given his bad luck and tendency to literally be brutally killed at random, he figured that keeping his distance from her would make her safer. But in the process he made her lonely, forcing her seek human contact from vampire kids of all people. He couldn't forgive himself for it, even when that and her phase as a goth were over. It made him realize how terrible of a brother he was, despite his best intentions. Dressing up as Mysterion to comfort her was no longer enough. More than a guardian angel, his sister needed a friend.

"[...Come on. Let's get you to your classroom.]" Kenny said softly, earning a nod in response. He led Karen through the corridors until he reached a door that said 'First Grade'. "[There you go.]" He told her, but she didn't let go of his arm or made any sign of acknowledging his words. Her eyes were glued to all the kids talking inside. Kenny remained silent, watching her with concern.

_"...It must be hard for her... I wonder if I did the right thing by bringing her here..." _Kenny thought, but soon shook his head. _"...No. Of course I did. Karen can't stay in that house all her life."_

"Ken..." She muttered, bringing him back from his thoughts. The use of his nickname was unexpected. "What if no one likes me...?"

"[Hey...]" Kenny knelt down, staying on an eye to eye level with her. "[There's no way anyone can dislike you. You're the sweetest girl ever.]" He patted her head, gently running his fingers through her hair and being careful not to mess up her small pigtails. He then moved his hand to her face and wiped some dirt from it. "[Don't worry. I'll always be here if you need me.]"

"...Promise?" She asked timidly.

"[Promise.]" He didn't even think twice.

"...Pinky promise?" She extended her fist; her pinky finger sticking out.

Kenny smiled, wrapping his own pinky figer around hers. "[Pinky promise.]"

Finally, Karen smiled, giving Kenny a goodbye hug. She faced the door for a few more secodns afterwards, breathing deeply before heading inside. Once she was in, she turned back to wave at Kenny, who waved back. Once she sat down, Kenny finally left.

_"I hope it'll be alright..." _He thought, making his way to his locker. He checked his watch, and he still had about five minutes before classes started.

With his locker open, he checked the schedule taped on the inside of the door and sorted out the books and notebooks he'd need for the day, placing them inside his backpack and returning yesterday's materials back inside the locker.

Distracted, he didn't notice someone approach him. "Hey." Said the emotionless voice.

Kenny turned to meet his friend. "[Hey Stan. What's up?]"

"Nothing." Was the reply. A short silence befell them as Kenny kept managing his books, a little confused with that answer. "So." Stan started. "Done anything interesting yesterday?"

"[Oh yeah, I actually did.]" Kenny smiled, but missed Stan's frown as he kept shoving books in his backpack. "[I watched the new Game of Thrones episode. That was so epic!]"

"Uh-huh."

"[Shit's totally going to hit the fan now. I can't wait for this week's episode, though Cartman will probably give me spoilers again. The bastard...]"

"Where did you watch it?" Stan suddenly asked. The question caught Kenny off guard, stunning him into silence. "You weren't at Cartman's yesterday." Stan seemed impatient.

Kenny then remembered Cartman saying something about everyone going to his house to rewatch the episode. "Oh yeah. I wasn't really invited. Cartman is pissed at me, but I can't say I care."

Stan had a weird look on his face. "Hm. So. Where did you watch it?"

Kenny noticed the weird atmosphere, now done with his books and facing his friend properly. He closed his locker and spun the padlock. "[...At Wendy's. She invited me over.]"

Stan frowned slightly. "Ah."

After a moment of silence, Kenny picked up his backpack and motioned to leave. "[...Well, we should head to cl-]"

"I didn't know you two were close." Stan cut him off. His tone wasn't friendly.

Kenny wasn't stupid. He knew what was going on.

He sighed. "[I wouldn't say we're close. We became friends after Cartman forced me to attend her practice.]"

"Friends, huh?" Stan repeated. He didn't seem convinced.

"[Yeah.]" Kenny got serious. "[Ask Bebe, or Red, or Annie. They were there too.]" He said, hoping that by mentioning other girls his friend would back off.

But he didn't. "Huh. You're pretty popular now." His voice dripped with sarcasm.

"[I guess.]" Kenny had enough, turning on his heel. "[See you in class, man.]"

"Do you like her?"

Kenny stopped, sighing. "[...We're just friends, dude. But seriously, why do you even care?]" He lost his patience, unknowingly asking his friend the same question Kyle made the other day. "[I thought you were done with her.]"

Stan's frown deepened. "I don't care about Wendy." He was quick to state, but it didn't sound very convincing even to himself. He opened his mouth to say something else, but quickly shut it, averting his gaze.

Kenny said nothing for a while. In a way he could understand what was probably going on in his friend's head, so he tried to not hold it against him. He tried to act friendly, to show there was no hard feelings on his part "[...Alright then. Come on man, we're going to be late for class.]"

With a frown, Stan just grabbed his own backpack and went ahead, without waiting for Kenny.

The boy in the orange parka just sighed, realizing it'd be a long day...

* * *

...

If curiosity killed the cat, then it was a wonder that Wendy was still alive.

She felt stupid about it, but as it turns out, Kenny's teasing was more effective than she expected it to be. She figured she would eventually forget about it and would be able to wait until the following day for an answer, but no. Her stupid brain couldn't help but interrupt her studies and her daily chores to constantly theoretize about who could Kenny's mysterious guest could be.

The most likely answer to that question would be a friend of his, but Wendy wasn't sure. While girls were starting to act nicer around him, other boys were a different story. The majority of them seemed indifferent to fixing their relationships with girls, and all of them seemed equally uninterested in their volleyball games as usual. It wasn't impossible for one of them to suddenly change, like Kenny did, but Wendy just couldn't picture it.

Her mind then crossed the possibility of there being no guest at all, and that it was all a ruse to make her confused. If that was the case, then it had worked frustratingly well. But Wendy had the feeling that wasn't the case.

Maybe a girlfriend? Nah, that was unlikely. Pretty much every girl she knew was angry at him until a few days ago, and those who weren't anymore were part of the volleyball team, so they couldn't be his guest. Maybe he was dating someone from outside of school...? It wasn't impossible, but for some reason Wendy hoped that wasn't the case. She wasn't sure why.

Sighing, she looked around the playground to try and find him, but was unsucessful. He greeted her normally once he first entered the classroom, but other than that, she hadn't had a chance to talk to him today. She had hopes of getting an answer from him ahead of time by talking to him during recess, but he was nowhere to be seen. Which was weird, considering how all his friends were playing football. Where could he be?

_"I know we didn't make plans of talking about Nelly today, but... I wonder where he is." _She thought as ate a few cookies. A few of her own friends were talking next to her, but she wasn't really paying attention to the conversation or even to her own snack; lost in her own mind as her eyes searched for the orange parka.

"I didn't know you were dating Kenny, Heidi." One of the girls said. Needless to say, that caught Wendy's attention, who almost choked on a cookie.

"W-What?! What the hell are you talking about?!" Heidi looked shocked.

Bebe grinned. "Don't even try to hide it. I saw you two holding hands earlier today. You clung to his arm like you were newlyweds."

Heidi blinked several times, unable to process the sudden information. "Uhhh... Bebe, I think you're mistaken."

Lola interjected. "No way. I saw it too! You were wearing pigtails and some weird make up on your face." She placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. "You really need to work on your disguises, my friend."

"He really won you over with that hug, huh?" Bebe playfully hit the girl's arm with her shoulder.

Heidi's face was like the literal embodiment of a Windows blue screen of death. "...Girls, I have literally no idea what the fuck you're talking about."

Bebe sighed. "Geez, you're stubborn..."

"No, seriously. I'm really confused right now. You must have seen Kenny with a different girl." Heidi said. For some reason, these words made Wendy slightly annoyed. "Ask Annie or Wendy. We were talking in the classroom before class started."

All eyes went to Wendy, who nodded, feeling extremely confused herself. "W-Well... It's true."

"Well then, whoever that was, she was a literal clone of yours. She looked exactly like you." Nichole joined.

"I'm sure I'd know if there was something who looked just like me." Heidi sighed, knowing all along that this was all some misunderstanding, but glad she was starting to convince the others of that. "I don't know who you saw, but it wasn't me."

"Then who the hell was Kenny holding hands with?" Bebe looked puzzled. Admittedly, everyone was equally confused, especially Wendy.

_"...Maybe... The girlfriend theory isn't that out of the question..."_ She thought to herself. And for some reason... It bothered her.

Eventually, she was brought back to real life when she heard a commotion. The sound of a girl screaming immediately caught her attention and that of everyone around her. Wendy turned to see a small girl running, a terrified expression to her face. Behind her, three female fifth graders chased her with sickening smiles to their faces. One of them looked like a tomboy; wearing a red cap and her brown hair wrapped in a bun. Her shirt and trousers were black, but her belt was light blue. The second girl wore blue jeans, a gray hoodie with the hood on and a green shirt underneath, but part of her brown straight hair could be seen. Finally, the third girl had long wavy hair. Wendy wasn't sure if she was fat or strong, but it was a fact that her body was slightly larger/wider than the others. She was wearing a light blue jacket with a red shirt underneath. She also wore blue jeans and a blue headband.

"These girls again." Wendy heard Annie say. "Those are the bullies who almost broke my Justin Bieber doll!"

Wendy knew them. They were natural troublemakers, always picking on younger girls and making a scene. Until some time ago, the fifth and sixth graders had their recess at a different time than those in from the first to fourth grade. But that was changed once the school office realized that there was no point in doing that unless they wanted to intentionally mess up the teachers's schedules. As a result, it was eventually decided to mix up the kids's recess, but that only gave birth to even more bullying and harrassment. What used to only happen in bathrooms and hallways now happened in broad daylight. The lack of staff left the playground mostly unsupervised, so there was little anyone could do to defend themselves against their bullies.

"Uh... Girls... More importantly... Do you notice anything weird about that girl?" Red said, pointing to the fifth graders's newest victim.

Suddenly, all questions from earlier were answered. The small girl that was being chased looked like a younger version of Heidi: Her hair color and clothes were exactly the same, but her hair was done in pigtails and she was visibly younger and shorter. Not just that, but she looked like she had some dirt in her face, which Wendy assumed to be courtesy of those older girls.

Bebe was stunned. "Heidi... Who the hell is that?"

"I didn't know you had a youger sister!" An equally shocked Lola stated, eyes glued to the girl.

"I don't!" Heidi exclaimed. "I have no idea who that is!"

She was apparently recieving a 'welcome party' by these disgusting fifth graders. Everyone was watching, but no one moved a muscle, not wanting to get involved. Everyone knew that once you became a target, you'd stay as one until some unlucky soul took your place. Or not.

The girl was terrified. She clung to a worn out doll like her life depended on it; her eyes frantically looking around for an oportunity to escape or for someone to help. But she was graces with neither, and suddenly she found herself cornered. She stood between a large wall that separated the playground from the streets and the two girls. Other girls surrounded them to watch.

"P-Please leave me alone!" The girl was on the verge of tears, but the fifth graders only found that even more amusing.

"Aww, what's the matter? Gonna cry? Piss your pants, maybe?" One of the girls mocked.

"Hand over that doll." The girl with the red cap ordered.

Wendy was sickened. She wanted to step in, but didn't want to become a target herself. Besides, she still had troubles from the time she beat up Cartman in front of everyone. She couldn't risk her position as student council president or another suspension. Her school life was at stake.

The young girl held the doll even tighter, freaking out as the two bullies stepped closer. "No!" She looked around, tears streaming down her face. "Help!"

_"...Damn it! Why won't anyone do anything?!" _Wendy asked herself in her mind, knowing all too well that she was being a hypocrite. The small girl cowered like a puppy; her assailants approaching her dangerously. Wendy could no longer watch it in silence, gritting her teeth in anger. _"...Screw it!"_

Wendy was about to yell, when...

It happened.

Something fell from the sky and landed between the three girls, causing everyone's jaw to drop. Not a single soul in that playground failed to recognize what - or rather who - had just showed up. For months, several of these kids walked on the streets at night hoping to get a picture of him. Even to this day, many still wondered about his true identity.

The enforcer of justice who protected the streets of South Park. The beacon of hope in a world gone mad.

He was in a classic superhero landing pose: leaning forward, face down, with both legs shoulder length apart, one foot forward and both knees bent; with one hand on the ground to support his weight. He eventually raised his head, a nasty frown on his face as he slowly lifted his body, standing protectively in front of the young girl. The dark purple cloak that dragged on the ground, wrapped around his neck. The bright green question mark attached the top of his head through a small spring. A black half-mask that covered his face from the bridge of the nose up. The off-lavender suit with a bright green 'M' on the front of it. Brown boots, olive-green gloves, a plain black belt and a pair of underwear briefs over his suit. There was no doubt about it.

"...Mysterion?!"

"Dude, it's Mysterion!

"Oh my god! Is it really him?!"

The crowd was in awe, not hesitating to pull out their cellphones and take photos and videos. Several kids called for the hero, asking him to look their way or sign autographs, but he didn't even spare them a glance.

The three bullies froze, confused beyond belief. "No way... Is that really Mysterion?" One of them asked, visibly altered.

The hero remained silent, aiming an intimidating glare filled with murderous intent directly at the bullies. His cape-like cloaked danced in the air as the wind blew. His mere presence had unspeakable pressure, and none of the two girls were able to even move.

Mysterion mentally sighed, both inwardly thanking himself for being prepared in case something like this happened to his sister, but also feeling somewhat annoyed with all the attention. He couldn't help but remember the last time something like this happened.

Unlike the kids in Greeley Elementary, where Kenny was sent when his parents were arrested (again) for dealing meth, everyone in South Park actually knew Mysterion. He was admired, respected and feared for his heroic deeds as a vigilante, so their reaction wasn't surprising. However, as flattering as being recognized and loved was, Mysterion knew his presence would have some kind of repercussion in the future, which was why he never showed up before despite it being almost guaranteed that he would be popular and would drown in chicks. He just knew it would end up being too much of a headache.

Sure, he too wished their franchise would be a hit and they'd get rich with movies and series, but that wasn't Mysterion's priority. Unlike wannabe 'heroes' like the Coon, Mysterion cared more about actually protecting his town and it's people than being famous. He felt that it was his responsibility, as someone who had an actual superpower, to actually fight and stand for something.

"I'll only say this once." Mysterion started. His tone was as intimidating as his penetrating glower. "Leave her alone."

Eventually, one of the bullies recovered from her shock, scofffing. "Hah... Hah! Why don't you make us?!"

"W-What are you doing?!" The girl with the gray hoodie said, clearly intimidated. "That's Mysterion!"

"Come on! There's no way that's the real Mysterion! Look closely: It's just some kid dressing up as him!"

The hoodie girl seemed to relax and regain her confidence. "...You're right! What the hell? It's just some twerp!" She laughed.

"How about you put your underwear back inside your pants and get lost, runt? Or do you want some piece of this?" The girl with the red cap cracked her fingers.

"Karen. Close your eyes." Mysterion said calmly. The girl quickly did as she was told. The hero refocused on the bullies and said nothing more. Waiting.

The bully with the red cap fumed at the kid's lack of response to her taunts. "What? Too scared to talk?" She taunted again.

Still no answer from Mysterion.

The girl gritted her teeth, shaking off her unease at the boy's calm and collectedness with a violent fit of rage. "You piece of shit!" At this, she charged at the hero, who didn't move.

The outcome of this fight was already decided. If one could even call it a fight, that is.

With outstanding agility, as soon as his opponent was within reach, Mysterion jumped and delivered a full force spinning kick straight to the girl's face, knocking her cap out of her head and undoing her bun as she was violently sent to the ground. Once she hit the floor, all the air in her lungs was forced out and she gasped, disoriented. She tried to stand on her knees, but before she had time to recover, she was she was met with another boot to her left cheek, the impact causing her to spit blood and fall face down on the dirt, groaning loudly in pain.

Just then, she was forcibly grabbed by her hair and roughly pulled off the ground. She screamed in pain, on the verge of tears herself. "Hmph. Worthless." Mysterion scoffed with disgust. He brought his face centimeters away from hers, his eyes as cold and lethal as a knife as he forced her too look at them. "Don't show your pathetic face around Karen McCormick ever again. If I even so much as _think_ you or your friends are messing with her again, I won't be so gentle next time. Understand?"

"Y-Yes!" The girl pitifully managed before Mysterion forcefully planted her face on the dirt. The other bullies stared in absolute shock, frozen stiff. Everyone cheered loudly.

Frowning, Mysterion lit up firecrackers and ran towards Karen before they started blowing up. Using his cloak to shield his vision, he carried Karen on his back and climbed a tree in the playground. He jumped from one of the branches into one of the windows, entering the school. Thankfully, it was an empty classroom, and a quick glance into one of the doors was enough to let him know if was a second grade room. Swiftly, he rushed to the door, still holding Karen. Slowly, he opened the door and peered outside. The wallways were empty. Without wasting any time he rushed outside, stealthily making his way towards Karen's classroom. Once he peeked inside and confirmed that there was no one in there either, he entered.

He could still hear the commotion outside, with kids asking where he went. Apparently, his feat with the firecrackers worked successfully. He could also hear the fifth graders yelling profanities and threats aimed at him and Karen.

_"Typical cowards. Waiting for me to leave to start talking shit." _He frowned, considering going back there to give the other girls a taste of his fists. But he fought against it, deciding to focus his attention on someone who actually deserved it, like the small girl he was carrying. Carefully, he placed her down and turned to properly face her.

"Are you alright, Karen?" He asked, eyeing her with concern.

"Y-Yes..." Karen replied.

He sighed in relief. "Good. You're safe now."

"Ah... Uh... G-Guardian Angel..." Karen sobbed; her body shaking as she bit her lip. Eventually, she couldn't hold them any longer and rushed towards her savior, burying her face in his chest and wrapping her arms around him as she cried her eyes out. "Waaaaahhhh!"

Mysterion calmly returned her hug, rubbing her back in a comforting way. He said nothing as he listened to her cry, deep down glad that he made it in time, but at the same time blaming himself for her predicament. He should have seen it coming. Fifth and sixth graders picked on new kids all the time. How could he not think for a second that Karen wouldn't be a victim?! How terrible of a guardian angel- no. How terrible of a brother could he be?

"I-I was so scared!" Karen cried, weeping uncontrolably. Mysterion said nothing, at that point not even caring if someone entered the classroom anymore. "T-They wanted to t-take my doll, and... and..."

"...It's alright, Karen." He reassured her. "It's alright..."

"No, it's not!" She suddenly yelled. That caught Mysterion by surprise, who eyed her with confusion.

"Karen...?"

She said nothing for a while, wiping her tears and sniffing. "...Kenny will be mad at me..."

"...What?" Mysterion was confused. "What makes you think that?"

"...Because!" She seemed angry. Mysterion had never seen her like this "...I wanted to come to school for so long... And Kenny fought hard to convince my mom... But now...! It's been my first day and I'm too scared to come back! H-He's going to hate me...!" She mumbled, crying again.

"You think I- er, that your brother would hate you over something like this?" He knelt in front of her, gently placing a hand on her cheek. "There's no way that would ever happen. Your brother loves you more than anything."

She met his gaze; her eyes puffy and red from crying. "But..."

"Listen. I know school can be scary, especially when you're new. But you can't give up now. This is your chance to make friends. To learn new things. To have fun and to have a future. Don't throw all that away because of some mean girls." He wiped her tears.

"B-But... What if they try to bully me again?"

"Then I'll be there to protect you, as I always have." He held both her hands with his own. "...Do you believe me?"

"...Yes..."

"Then promise you'll try your best. For me, for your brother, and for yourself."

She didn't answer immediately, sighing. "...Alright. I'll try." She smiled timidly.

Mysterion smiled. "Good. I'm counting on you." He then glanced at the clock above the blackboard, and frowned. He turned on his heel and faced the window. "I must go now."

"Wait!" She called for him as he was about to jump. "...Thanks, Guardian Angel."

He said, nothing, replying with nothing but a nod and a small smile. Seeing hope in her eyes again was all Mysterion could ever wish for.

Just then, the door to the classroom opened. An adult woman entered, looking startled. It was the first grade teacher.

"You're... Karen McCormick, aren't you? What are you doing here, all alone?" She asked.

Karen wondered what she meant by that, turning back to the window where her Guardian Angel was a second ago...

...Only to find out he had mysteriously vanished as usual.

* * *

...

"...How many more times are you going to watch that video?" Wendy asked as she streched, mentally exhausted after listening to the same audio what must've been over forty times already. She didn't even have to look at Bebe's phone to know what she was watching anymore.

"Are you kidding me? This is my new favorite video of all time!" She replied excitedly. Several other girls stood behind her, watching the video from her phone with equal excitement and awe.

The look in Annie's face was one of pure delight. "I'll never get sick of watching this. Serves these bitches right!"

"I wish he'd have beaten up the other two as well." Red commented.

Bebe laughed. "I just love how he knocks her cap off."

"What does he say to her when he's pulling her hair?" A random girl in the bleachers joined.

"No idea. Too much background noise. I can't quite read his lips either; the video is too shaky." Nichole answered.

"I was able to record it from a different angle, check it out!"

Wendy sighed, rolling her eyes as more and more girls gathered to watch and discuss the video like as if they were in a book club. She didn't even bother trying to get them to focus on volleyball whenever they got like this, especially on rare occasions like this one, where she was having a hard time focusing on her exercises herself. Not only because the other girls wouldn't shut up about it, but also because she was equally amazed and impressed at what happened.

If anything, Wendy was probably even more shocked than the other girls, being one of the few people in that playground who actually knew Mysterion's real identity, which was both an honor and somewhat disappointing at the same time; given the fact that it basically destroyed her theory that Mysterion could secretly be a girl. She would have loved to see the look on the Coon's face once he realized that the hero who had been stealing the spotlights from him was someone from the opposite gender, knowing that his racist, sexist ass wouldn't be able to handle that information well. Wendy did, technically, gain that satisfaction when she herself adopted a superhero alterego and helped the New Kid solve the wave of crimes that assaulted South Park a while ago; earning more respect from her peers than the 'senior' fatass hero. But it'd have still been nice if the town's infamous vigilante were a girl like her.

Back when she was wondering what Kenny was up to, that he would dress up as his superhero alterego and give a fifth grader a nice combo of black eye and broken nose most certainly wasn't something she would ever consider. He was, after all, almost sent to jail once for revealing his face on live TV; but thankfully it was Kyle who had taken the fall for him, keeping his identity a secret from 99% of the town. Which was why showing up to school of all places dressed as Mysterion was a bold move in Wendy's eyes. What if he were recognized by other kids? By teachers? He could not only be sent to jail for his vigilantism, but also be suspended from school for the beating he gave that girl.

However, as the captain of the team, she felt like it would be inadmissable to let distractions like this affect her concentration and get in the way of her training. Which was why, despite her lack of success, she was trying her hardest to keep this out of her mind.

But considering how the boy under that superhero costume had been in her mind most of the day all along, pushing this subject out of her head was no easy task; especially when her friends would so kindly remind her of it every fifteen seconds.

And of course, there was also the fact that Kenny was nowhere to be seen; his absence only raising further questions in the girl's head.

After recess, he showed up in classroom back in his regular clothes and watched class like as if nothing happened. The way he acted so naturally was both amazing and disturbing, going as far as joining conversations about Mysterion with other kids and genuinely sounding like a mere bystander, making comments about his own stunts like as if he had read them from a comic. His acting was so perfect that Wendy even doubted for a moment if he was really Mysterion.

"Hey, look who just got here!" One of the girls said and the group momentarily took their attention away from their phones. Their jaws dropped.

Wendy interrupted her stretching exercises and turned, only to find Kenny entering the gym. She felt somewhat relieved to see him there for some reason. She had been wondering if he would even show up today, considering what happened earlier as well as the fact that he was unusually late. But what surprised everyone wasn't his presence. But rather the small girl holding his hand and shyly looking around.

It was then that Wendy realized. It was so obvious that she felt incredibly stupid for making questions all day and not noticing earlier that she already had all the answers.

Why would Mysterion risk having his secret identity exposed in front of his friends and fans? Why would he go through the trouble of showing up at school in broad daylight just to beat up some random bullies? And what about what Bebe saw in the hallways? Could Kenny and Heidi be secretly dating? And most importantly... The question she had been asking herself since yesterday... Who could his mysterious guest be? Wendy spend so much time pondering about each question that she ended up ignoring the common link between all of them.

The answer to all these questions was standing right next to him.

Just then, Wendy heard a whistle blow, and looked the other way to find the coach entering the gym through a different door.

"Alright girls, enough talk! I hope you're all warmed up!" The woman said, and it was only then that the girls realized how long they had been wasting time. Wendy rolled her eyes, knowing all too well that this would happen. "We're short on time today, so we're going straight to the sparring matches. Form your teams!" She yelled, blowing her whistle again. She didn't seem to be in the best of moods today.

The girls in the volleyball team were quick to do as they were told, but it was evident in their faces that they were beyond curious, throwing glances at Kenny and the girl, who were now sitting by his usual spot in the bleachers.

Even after the teams were formed and were now arranging themselves in the court, it was clear that their attention was somewhere else, much to Wendy's frustration.

"Who do you think she is?" Bebe whispered.

Red shrugged. "No idea. Could they be dating?"

"But she looks like she's half his age... What the fuck." Nichole joined, looking somewhat creeped out at the thought.

Wendy stepped forward, facing her teammates. "Alright girls, that's enough. I know you're all confused and curious about the whole Mysterion incident, and believe me, so am I. We'll have all the time in the world to talk about it afterwards, but right now, I need you guys to focus on volleyball." She said, but the girls didn't seem eager to follow her command. She sighed. "...You don't want to look stupid in front of someone who might know Mysterion, right?"

At this the girls widened her eyes.

"She's right." Bebe said. "Maybe that girl can tell us what that was all about."

"Yeah, we should ask her about it once the match is over." Nichole nodded. Wendy smirked in satisfaction. Her friends could be easy to manipulate sometimes.

Both teams assumed their positions. Wendy closed her eyes and took a deep breath, clearing her head from anything other than volleyball. When she reopened her eyes, there was no more Kenny in her mind. Or Mysterion. Or young little girl. Her eyes could only see the volleyball court and the ball she was holding.

The coach blew her whistle.

_"...Let's do this."  
_

* * *

...

_"[Hey Karen... Can you put these books in my locker for me?]" Kenny asked._

_"Huh?" The girl was visibly confused. "I-"_

_"[You remember which one is my locker, right?]" He cut her off, picking her books from her hands and handing some of his own to her. "[I'll bring these to your locker. Wait for me next to the gym, alright?]"_

_The girl was startled. Her brother wasn't usually this pushy. "U-Uhm... Okay, but... Wh-?"_

_"[But what?]" He said, almost impatiently. Karen visibly flinched at this, taking a step back. Kenny immediately noticed what he done. "[Sorry... I just... I need to see the school counselor. Your locker is on my way there, so I thought I could save you the trip. Also, my locker in on the way to the gym, so... Yeah.]" He said._

_A perplexed Karen said nothing for a few moments, tilting her head as she watched her brother. She wasn't dumb. Something was wrong. "Kenny, are you okay...?"_

_"[...Yeah.] He muttered. "[Sorry. I just need to ask Mr. Mackey something.]"_

_"Not that. You're, uh... You're acting kind of weird. Are you mad at me...?" She asked with concern._

_"[No, of course not. Why would I ever be angry with you?]" He patted her head, remembering what he told her earlier that day as his infamous alter ego. "[Don't worry, everything is fine.]" He said reassuringly, but Karen didn't really seem convinced. "[I'll see if I can find Mr. Mackey before he heads out for lunch. I'll meet you at the gym!]" He told her and quickly took of, leaving a bewildered Karen behind and not giving her a chance to say anything._

_Once he was no longer in her line of sight, he let out an angry sigh, no longer being able to maintain a neutral facial expression. His features grew noticiably darker as he treaded through the hallways, so lost in his thoughts that he didn't even acknowledge the other kids nearby. He was lucky he didn't run into any of his friends, since he quite frankly had no energy left to try and act casual around anyone._

_After a quick stop at the boys's bathroom, Kenny stopped in front of Karen's locker. It looked the same way it did from when he passed by earlier on his way to meet his sister in her classroom. The sight of it made him unconsciously tighten his grip on Karen's books, gritting his teeth so hard that it was a wonder they didn't break._

_Calmly placing the books down, he retrieved the small towel he dampened in the bathroom and silently washed away all the nasty drawings and words that were written on the locker door, ignoring curious spectators._

_KILL YOURSELF BITCH  
DIE WHORE  
JUST YOU WAIT_

_His movements were slow and steady, almost like as if he was doing it absentmindedly. He kept moving the towel until every trace of the markers's ink was erased without a trace. Thankfully, the lock didn't seem to be broken or to have been tampered with. He feared that Karen's possessions could have been destroyed or stolen, but they were still intact. Unfortunately, there wasn't much he could do about the key scratches or the several dents in the door. The wet towel was able to make them look slightly less worse, but they were still noticeable. Some of Karen's cute stickers should be able to hide them just fine though. Kenny just had to come up with an excuse as to why Karen's locker was suddenly wrecked. He would surely come up with something convincing later._

_But it wouldn't be any time soon. Contrary to his calm and collected actions, Kenny's mind was filled with crimson. Like a flame, the thoughts in his head were intense. Relentless. Oh, no, he wasn't angry. Not at all._

_...He was** MAD** as _**_HELL_**.

_Once Karen's belongings were properly stored, Kenny looked at the messed up door for several moments and snarled, somehow restraining the urge to punch the wall as he walked away. _

* * *

Kenny was hunched over in his seat; his elbows planted firmly on his upper thighs and serving as support for his head. Clasping hands, covered his already hidden mouth and did nothing but breathe in a miserable attempt to calm himself down. His eyes were lost, not looking at anything in particular but still incredibly intense. The events from just now kept replaying in his head, and he found himself unable to forget the vandalism on his sister's locker. The words that were left for her...

Now, Kenny isn't by any means a violent person. He (usually) doesn't solve his problems with violence unless he is fighting crime or dealing with annoying pricks like Cartman. Even then, being a brains over brawl kind of person, he always calmly sought the most logical course of action rather that letting his fists do the thinking (or talking). But not this time. The fact that someone (or 'someones') went to these lenghts to torment and harrass the person he loved the most was unforgivable. And he knew all too well that the abuse wouldn't end with by simply beating up one random bully.

But that wouldn't be a problem. After all, Kenny was is the perfect mood to send as many bullies as he could find to the hospital. Or to the morgue.

And then there was the incident with Stan. Kenny should have known his friend wouldn't forget his former girlfriend so easily, even if they hadn't spoken to each other for months. Stan had always been the jealous type, to the point of literally going on a journey to find a giant clitoris just to try and make Wendy choose him over a boy named Gregory. As obnoxious and somewhat unsightly as it was, Kenny knew that his friend's obssession for Wendy stemmed from his genuine love for her. She was the first and only girlfriend the boy ever had, and they had been together for years, so it was only natural for him to develop deep feelings for her. Hell, he even became a literal goth after his first break-up.

Now, it wasn't like Kenny couldn't imagine what was going through Stan's head. If one of his friends suddenly became close friends with Tammy, or Kelly, or even his sister Karen, he would probably feel some kind of jealousy too. Regardless of whether Stan still had feelings for Wendy or not, it was common sense that dating a friend's ex was not only wrong, but also a douchebag move. There was a lot of pain behind every break-up; even the sweetest of memories carrying a lot of pain and sadness. Some people can move on without looking back even once, but some people just can't pretend it never existed. Many people genuinely just can't overcome their angst and are forever haunted by the ghost of what was once a great relationship. So when a friend - a person you genuinely trust - is the one to benefit from your misery and build a relationship of their own with someone you once loved... It hurts as much as if they had stabbed your chest. Not because their former lover moved on. Not because they're happy with someone else. But because you feel betrayed.

_"But that's not the damn case here... I'm not dating Wendy. We're just friends." _Kenny thought, thinking back to his conversation with Stan. But for some reason, as true as these words were... something about them bothered Kenny deeply. How come the truth sounded so ugly...? Why did it sound so weird?

"...Hellooo? Earth to Kenny?" Someone called him, snapping their fingers.

Kenny broke out of his spell and looked up to find a small group of girls standing in front of him by the bleachers. Karen was shyly clutching his arm and hiding her face in his back. Needless to say, Kenny was confused. "[...What?]"

The one who had called him was apparently Red. She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at him. "You alive in there? The match ended a while ago, you know."

Kenny blinked a few times and looked around. Indeed, the court looked rather empty now. The volleyball net had already been dismantled and taken away; most likely back to the storage room. Bleachers were deserted save for him and Karen. "[...O-Oh. I see. Sorry, I spaced out. Do you need us to leave?]"

The girls looked at each other with uncertainty. Wendy said nothing, peering at the boy with something akin to concern. Naturally, she couldn't see his whole facial expression, but there was something odd about him today. Despite coming to watch the practice like he promised, Wendy felt like his mind was elsewhere. He looked pale and unusually distracted. His eyes were restless, conveying some emotion that Wendy wasn't able to read.

"No, not really. But hey... Who is that?" Bebe suddenly asked him. Karen stiffened, tightening her grip on his arm.

He frowned. "She_ must still be scared about what happened earlier..."_ His mind dangerously drifted back to Karen's locker, but he dismissed the thoughts for now.

"[Ah... right.]" He cleared his throat. He had a feeling that he knew why they all seemed suddenly interested in Karen, but decided to be polite as usual. "[This is Karen. She's a first grader, and today is her first day at school.]" He turned to his sister. "[Karen, this is the South Park Cows volleyball team. They're my classmates. Well, most of them.]"

Karen slowly let go of Kenny to properly face the athletes. It was then that Kenny realized that Karen didn't look afraid in the slightest. Quite on the contrary: her eyes were sparkling with amazement. "U-Um..." She smiled timidly rubbing her hands together in a similar manner to Butters and looking down, blushing.

"[Come on Kar, introduce yourself to everyone.]" He gently encouraged her.

Karen fidgeted with her hands for a few moments. "...'lo." She managed to say before hiding behind Kenny's back again.

The boy chuckled, letting go of his anger without realizing. "[Hahaha. What're you so shy for?]" He teased. Karen's face grew redder, and she replied by punching Kenny's arm. "[Ow! Hahaha.]" He rubbed his shoulder, still laughing.

Wendy had to admit that the girl was pretty adorable; as was their interaction just now. Their little moment just now brought a smile to her face... Or at least, it would have. Something about their proximity bothered Wendy, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what exactly. Was it because of the pet name? Or maybe because she was so young? Yeah, that was probably it. The girl looked like the epitome of innocence, like as if she came straight out of a child's cartoon. The thought that they could be in a relationship made Wendy deeply uncomfortable.

Karen reached out to Kenny and whispered in his ear. He nodded. "[...Sure, go ahead.]"

The girls were confused for a moment. Karen left Kenny's side and stood in front of the crowd. "U-Um... Hi." She looked down, looking bashful. "I, uh... I really enjoyed watching you play. I t-think you're all amazing."

"Oh, is that so? Thanks! It really means a lot to hear that." Wendy couldn't help but smile sweetly, as did the other girls.

"[I didn't think you'd enjoy it this much.]" An amused Kenny said. "[We can come again tomorrow if you want.]"

Karen's eyes widened. "Can we?" She asked, to which Kenny replied with a nod. "Yay!" She beamed. It was at times like these that Kenny couldn't contest Cartman accusing him of having a sister-complex. Karen was just too precious.

Wendy glanced at the boy and smiled, then turned back to the young girl. "Is he always this nice, Karen?"

"Yeah, Kenny is the best!" Karen's shyness was overcome by her excitement and she looked more eager to talk. "He bought me ice cream earlier, and yesterday he even let me sleep with him."

Silence.

"You... sleep with him?" Bebe asked, looking actually afraid to do so.

"Uh-huh!" She replied without a second thought. "We sleep together all the time when my parents aren't home. He hugs me tight so that I don't feel scared."

Some of the girls covered their mouths in absolute shock while a few others just widened their eyes and dropped their jaws It took Kenny a moment to understand why they were reacting that way; his eyes widening with the realization. Suddenly, he was struck with an ominous, familiar feeling of portent; a feeling that was usually followed by a brutal, painful death experience for him. Kenny always found Karen's innocence endearing, and in a way it made him happy since she wasn't growing up to become someone like her parents. But hell, did she just dig his grave.

"Call 911." One of the girls said, and suddenly he had several pairs of glares aimed at him. One of the girls pulled a cellphone from her gym bag.

"[H-Hold on! It's not what you think! I can explain!]" He said. Oh fuck, they were pissed... Hold on, did that girl just crack her knuckles?

"Get him?" Someone hissed. Several nods were made in response.

"[W-Wait, damn it! She's my sister!]"

Much to Kenny's relief, his answer seemed to have the desired effect, as the murderous intent the girls were exhibiting slowly subsided.

"Your... sister?" It was Wendy who asked, for some reason feeling a huge weight come out of her chest. She had no idea why realizing that Karen was Kenny's sister relieved her so much.

"[Yes!]" An exasperated Kenny exclaimed. "[She feels scared at night, so I stay with her until she falls asleep.]" He clarified. The girls's reactions were priceless.

"Geez, tell us that sooner!" Red sighed. "We almost freaked out just now."

"[Yeah yeah, I'll be more careful next time.]" He rolled his eyes. "[Anyway, good game guys. See you all tomorrow.]" He grabbed Karen's hand. "[Come on Karen, let's go home.] He said with a tired voice, eager to go home and hoping a long, warm bath would ease his mind a bit.

"Already...?" Karen mumbled, disappointed.

Kenny raised an eyebrown "[Why? Do you want to stay?]" He asked, confused. Due to the trauma she went through today, Karen was pretty much begging Kenny to go home as soon as possible an hour ago. It was a wonder she even accepted to watch the volleyball match. Kenny had invited her in hopes of cheering her up a bit, but he honestly didn't expect her to actually accept, and especially not for her to want to stick around when it was over.

Karen seemed troubled. "...I wanted to talk the the girls a bit more..."

"[Ah, I see.]" Kenny forced a smile. "[Well, I don't mind, but the girls need to go home too.]"

"Actually, we'd love to talk to Karen some more." Bebe quickly interjected.

The small girl's eyes lit up. "Really?!" Suddenly excited, Karen didn't even wait for an answer before turning back to Kenny. "Can we please stay? Please?" She begged.

How could Kenny refuse?

"[Alright, alright. Go ahead.]" Kenny patted her head. Karen being this excited was quite a rare sight, so he felt a bit relieved himself. Karen beamed, thanking her brother from the bottom of her heart as she went down the bleachers and towards the girls.

Kenny watched her off with a smile, which soon faded into nothingness as he once again lost himself in his thoughts.

_"...These people won't quit. They ignored my warning and tried to harrass my sister again. They won't stop..." _He clenched his fists, the faces of the fifth-graders burned into his memories._ "That's why... No matter what it takes... I'm going to stop them."_

...

...

**_To be continued..._**

* * *

**A/N: Hello everyone. Thank you so much for reading this far. I deeply apologize for taking so long with this update and I hope you enjoyed it. I will update this story again very soon, so please look forward to it! And again, please don't forget to review!**


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